Victorian Masters Titles Light Up The Mornington Peninsula With Marcus Lens And Tracey Murray Taking Out The Over 45 Men And Over 35 Women

The competition resumed on Sunday at Rye Surf Beach (Mornington Peninsula) with the Victorian Masters Titles lighting up the beach. Swell had filtered in over night with the Masters greeted by peaky 3 – 4 ft walls that allowed those that choose the right wave to jam multiple turns in the pocket.

During the first half of the day, the competitors surfed on the inside rip bowl rights with surfers battling to get the best waves. In the Over 45 Men’s semifinals Marcus Lens (Jan Juc) decided to change up his heat strategy and paddled out the back to find a bigger face to work with. After not much searching Lens was able to blitz a big backhand floater with commitment to gain one of the highest scores of the day, an 8.33 point ride, and a spot in the final.

After being the stand out performer all day Marcus Lens was able to find the right waves to capitalise on which led him to win in the final.

Lens secured the win in the Over 45 Open Men and also the Over 50 Men with a smooth and powerful style that allowed him to graciously flow to the section before annihilating the lip.

He posted a combined heat total of 12.37 points (out of a possible 20 points) in the Over 50 final and also went huge with a series of hammering hacks on multiple waves in the Over 45 Final to collect a 12.83 combined heat total and his second win.

“It’s nice to win, but I’m just happy to be able to surf with a good bunch of people,” Lens said.

“There’s underlying competitiveness, but everyone at the competition is friendly and encouraging, “ he continued.

“I decided to go out the back because I could see the opportunity to get one or two good turns on bigger waves that would certainly score higher.” Lens added.

Similarly, Over 60 Men’s winner Joe Cervi (Rye) took inspiration from the Over 45 winner and put in the work out the back receiving an 8.67 point ride for a searing carve in the critical section of the wave. This gave Cervi a distinct advantage over his competitors, earning him the win on a combined total of 15.67 points.

On the other side of the draw in the Master Women’s, Gayle Main (Queenscliff) took out the Over 60 Women with an incredibly long ride that earned her a 8.33.

In the Over 35’s Tracey Murray (Mornington Peninsula), Jade Ogilvie (Point Lonsdale) and Tiffany Riggs (Torquay) had a close battle that had Murray come out on top with a combined heat total of 12.53 points, with Ogilvie coming in second and Rigs in third after not being able to get onto a second major wave.

“The conditions were tricky but I just wanted to get one straight away and then build on that,” said Murray.

“It was also really cool to catch up again with the girls from years ago” she added.

Tracey Murray made her way to the 12.53 combined heat total through a pair of mid 6 point rides that came from a committed approach to the waves and her turns. Her high scoring wave of a 6.33 was a great example of this as she air dropped out of a committed carve with speed and confidence.

Other division winners from the day included Tim Birnie (Jan Juc, over 35 Men), Adam Leslie (Jan Juc, Over 40 Men), Martin Rennhackkamp (Lara, Over 55 Men) and Mark Miccoli (Patterson Lakes, Single Fin)

Finals Results:

Over 35 Men
1st – Tim Birnie (Jan Juc), 14.40
2nd – Lachy McDonald (Blairgowrie), 11.84
3rd – Joel Reid (Blairgowrie), 11.17
4th – Luke Beerling (Rye), 10.10

Womens Masters
1st – Gayle Main (Queenscliff), 14.33 – Over 60 Womens
2nd – Tracy Murray (Mornington Peninsula), 12.53 – Over 35 Women
3rd – Jade Oglvie (Point Lonsdale), 9.70 – Over 35 Women
4th – Tiffany Riggs (Torquay), 8.50 – Over 35 Women
5th – Michelle Fincher (Ventnor), 5.03 Over 50 Women

Over 40 Men
1st – Adam Leslie (Jan Juc), 10.80
2nd – Mark Walker (Seaford), 9.14
3rd – Ben Fox (Boneo), 8.64
4th – Mark Miccoli (Patterson Lake), 8.06

Over 45 Men
1st – Marcus Lens (Jan Juc), 12.83
2nd – Arthur Mckenzie (Cowes), 11.87
3rd – Andrew Hyde (Mccrae), 9.44
4th – Mark Walker (Seaford), 9.34

Over 50 Mens
1st – Marcus Lens (Jan Juc), 13.87
2nd – Arthur McKenzie (Cowes), 11.87
3rd – James Taylor (Walkerville), 6.23
4th – Clayton Allen-Ankins (Marshall), 4.73

Over 55 Men
1st – Martin Rennhackkamp (Lara), 9.40
2nd – Craig Lloyd (Armstrong Creek), 7.60
3rd – Andrew Dell (St Andrews Beach), 6.77
4th – Jamie Reichelt (Balnarring), 6.54

Over 60 Men
1st – Joe Cervi (Rye), 15.67
2nd – Martin Rennhackkamp (Lara), 5.60
3rd – Kim Shannon (Melbourne), 5.23
4th – Lindsay Davis (Mornington Peninsula), 3.67

Single Fin
1st – Mark Miccoli (Patterson Lake), 8.93
2nd – Craig Burton (St Andrew Beach), 7.27

Scores from the event can be found on www.surfingvic.com/live

The Victorian Open Series and Victorian Masters Titles is supported by QUIT Victoria, VicRoads Community Safety Grants, Cancer Council Sunscreen and Surfing Victoria.