NSSA EAST COAST CHAMPIONSHIPS PREVIEW FROM NEW SMYRNA BEACH, FLORIDA!
Tuesday, April 10, 2012 | Written by Janice Aragon
2012 NSSA EAST COAST CHAMPIONSHIPS PRESENTED BY NIKE
APRIL 12-15 AT NEW SMYRNA BEACH INLET, FLORIDA
Approximately 400 East Coast participants expected to contend for prestigious East Coast titles in the Regional Qualifier.
(New Smyrna Beach, Fl – April 10, 2012) – The 20th annual NSSA East Coast Championships (ECC) presented by Nike is set to kick off April 12-15 at New Smyrna Beach. Over 400 competitors from the NSSA’s five east coast conferences (Northeast, Mid Atlantic, Southeast/North, Southeast and Florida Gulf) are aiming to earn prestigious Regional titles while qualifying for slots to the 2012 NSSA National Championships in California this summer. The East Coast Championships will feature competition in Open Divisions, Explorer Divisions, Collegiate Divisions, High School divisions and the Airshow Championships.
The 2012 East Coast Championships will be staged at New Smyrna Beach for the second consecutive year in a town which boasts a welcoming population, good vibes, a passion for surfing events and most importantly one of the most consistent and quality waves on the eastern seaboard. The first East Coast Championship was held in 1993 at New Smyrna Beach, moved to Sebastian Inlet for the next 18 years and then made a successful comeback to Florida’s most reliable surf spot in 2011.
Some of the most notable names in East Coast surfing have claimed East Coast Regional titles. Past champions of the event include CJ and Damien Hobgood, Ben Bourgeois, Gabe Kling, Matt Keenan, Cam Anderson, Brian Toth, Dylan Graves, Yancy and Sterling Spencer, Jeremy Johnston, Rob Kelly, Cody and Evan Thompson, Eric and Evan Geiselman, Michael Dunphy, Blake Jones, Balaram Stack, Cam Richards, Karina Petroni and Amy Nicholl. New Smyrna Beach’s Evan Geiselman holds the overall record for most NSSA Regional Championship victories with 15 East Coast titles accumulated from 2003 through 2010.
Top title prospects in the lineup at this year’s East Coast Championships will be the 2011 Open Junior and Explorer Boys Champion Daniel Glenn who will be competing in familiar waters in his homebreak of New Smyrna. Glenn who put on a gigantic championship performance in 2011, will lay it all on the line in the hopes of defending his Juniors crown and also step up to compete in the premier Open Men’s category. Also competing in front of a hometown crowd is Noah Schweizer who was runner up in three divisions (Open Men’s, Open Juniors, Explorer Juniors) at the 2011 ECC and took the win in the Airshow Championships. Schweizer is the number one ranked surfer in the premier Open Men’s division from the Southeast/North Conference. Number two ranked from the Southeast/North is Corey Howell who took the win in the ECC Explorer Juniors division in 2011 and finaled in three divisions (Open Men’s, Open Juniors, Explorer Juniors). Number one Men’s seed out of the Southeast Conference is Wiley Robinson who put together an impressive 2011/12 season. From the Mid Atlantic, number one ranked Conner Lester will be in the hunt for his first Regional Championship title as will Patrick Schmidt who is the Men’s leader from the Northeast Conference. Cameron Sadowski will represent the newly re-established Florida Gulf Conference as it’s number one ranked Men’s seed. Another surfer who has cemented his status as one of the top players is the Mid Atlantic’s Knox Harris who tore it up at the 2011 ECC making both the Open Mens and Juniors finals. Two months later he backed it up with a big-time performance at the 2011 National Championships placing third in the finals of the highly competitive Open Juniors division.
The Open Juniors division will showcase the top talent of the 15 & under age category. Coming into the ECC as the number one seed is NSSA newcomer Nikita Pandelos who makes his home in neighboring Daytona Beach. Pandelos, who just celebrated his 14th birthday, has surfed impressively in his first NSSA season securing the Conference Juniors title in the Southeast/North. Brandon Mitchell will represent the Mid Atlantic as the number one ranked Junior and Sam Deeley will come in as the number one Junior from the Northeast. Southeast Conference number one seed Chauncey Robinson ruled the 2011/12 season in the Juniors category and will make a run for his first Regional title. Jace Mungai will make his initial appearance at the East Coast Championships as the number one ranked Junior from the Florida Gulf Conference and will seek his first Regional title.
East Coast College Championships: Defending East Coast College Champion University of North Carolina Wilmington has been the dominant college powerhouse at the Regionals the past three years and they will be back strong as ever to try and make it a four-peat. UNCW also had an outstanding third place showing at the 2011 National Championships. There are teams vying to unseat UNCW from their throne including last year’s runner up University of North Florida. Florida Tech ruled the 2011/12 season claiming the Conference title with four victories and will be aiming to dethrone UNCW. Team lineups for the East Coast Championships by ranking order are as follows: UNCW, FIT-A, Daytona State College, UCF-A, FIT-B, Flagler, UCF-B, UNF.
East Coast High School Championships: Melbourne and Jupiter High Schools will go head to head competing for Regional glory and qualify for a berth at the 2012 National High School Championships at Salt Creek June 14-17.
2011/12 CONFERENCE AWARDS CEREMONY: On Saturday, April 14 the NSSA will host a dinner buffet at Clancys Cantina, a New Smyrna Beach favorite for all East Coast Championship competitors. The 2011-12 NSSA Conference Awards will be presented here with the dinner and festivities starting at 7:15pm. Clancys is located at 301 Flagler Ave, New Smyrna Beach. Competitors will be comped for dinner. Parents, family and friends may eat for a cost of $7.00 per person.
2012 EAST COAST CHAMPIONSHIP AWARDS: The presentation of the 2012 East Coast Championship finalists and champions will be held Sunday, April 15: Awards ceremony and pizza hosted by Nike will be held immediately following the last final of the day.
The 2012 NSSA Championship Series is presented by Nike and proud to have support Surfing Magazine, Vitaminwater, Sex Wax and Clancys.
The NSSA East Coast Championships presented by Nike is the third of seven events on the 2012 NSSA Championship Series. The 2012 Championship Series events include the State Championships at Huntington Beach Pier March 9-11, the Hawaii Regional Championships at Kewalo Basin, Oahu, HI March 13-18; the East Coast Regional Championships at New Smyrna Beach Inlet, FL April 12-15; the NSSA Jr. Championships at Huntington Beach Pier, CA April 21; the West Coast Regional Championships at Huntington Beach Pier, CA May 17-20; the NSSA National Interscholastic Championships at Salt Creek June 14-17 and Huntington Beach Pier, CA June 26-July 3.
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