Surfing: Paige Hareb suffers early exit from Rip Curl Pro at the hands of Stephanie Gilmore

Paige Hareb sets up on her backhand during the Rip Curl Pro. Photo / WSL

Sometimes, you just have to take a loss on the chin and move on to the next event.

Kiwi surfer Paige Hareb will have to do just that after being eliminated from the Rip Curl Pro at Victoria's Bells Beach.

In the second World Surf League Championship Tour (CT) event of the season, Hareb was eliminated by six-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore, who put the Kiwi on the back foot on the very first wave of their heat.

The veteran Australian turned what looked to be a medium scoring ride into an excellent one with a deep lay-back on the final turn.

The judges rewarded her for the difficulty to ride out of such a manoeuvre, scoring her opening ride an 8.60.

From there, it was tough work for the Kiwi. Hareb showing some quality surfing, with a heat score of 12.36, but the goofy footer was left needing an 8.21 to progress which she was unable to find in the slow swell.

The loss was a tough one, when Hareb's score would have seen her win in the previous heat, and aside from her opening ride, Gilmore only had one other significantly scored wave.

Hareb has now suffered second round exits in the opening two events on the CT calendar in her return to the top. She was one of only two full-time CT surfers to have fallen in the first elimination round in both competitions, along with Australian Bronte Macaulay.

After two consecutive 13th-placed finishes, the 27-year-old will look to kickstart her season next week when the tour heads to Western Australia for the Margaret River Pro.
The event holds good memories for Hareb, who won the competition in 2008 when it was part of the qualifying series (QS).

While Hareb was competing in Victoria, fellow Kiwi Ella Williams continued her bid to crack to top stage in the sport, competing at a QS3000 event in Barbados. Heading into the event, the former junior World Champion was 33rd in the standings.

The top six on the QS ladder at the end of the season are guaranteed promotion to the CT. If one of those six is currently on the CT and requalifies with a top-10 finish, the next best QS surfer is promoted.

The 22-year-old dominated her opening heat and continued her strong form in the second round, before being eliminated in the third round. Costa Rican Leilani McGonagle, who won Williams' round three heat, went on to win the event.

Williams took a 13th-placed finish in the event, bagging 840 points toward her qualification bid and falling one spot to 34 in the standings.