West Australians Cyrus Cox (Margaret River) and Mia McCarthy (Margaret River) have captured their maiden victories on the World Surf League Qualifying Series, after dominant performances at the Mandurah Pro on Tuesday.
In the best conditions of the event waiting period, Avalon Point provided long and reeling 3-4 feet lefts which saw competitors from four nations compete in a thrilling day of finals action.
Cox claimed the biggest win of his career by taking down Callum Robson (Evans Head) in a memorable 30-minute final.
Using his forehand attack with pace and precision, Cox was able to put himself on the best waves in the final and in turn drop the biggest scores.
An excellent 8.50 (from a possible 10) and a backup 7.40 saw Cox to post an imposing total of 15.90 (from a possible 20) that Robson struggled to overcome.
"It's always good to get some waves, especially for the finals," Cox said.
"Thanks to my dad and Luke Campbell for their help and this is the best Avalon I've ever surfed. This win gives me great confidence going into the Yallingup event later this week."
In the women's final, McCarthy took down former WA resident Mikaela Greene (Manly) on the strength of a buzzer-beating last wave.
McCarthy powered to her first Qualifying Series win thanks to an array of powerful backhand maneuvers which saw her post a game changing 7.65 (from a possible 10) with just moments to spare.
Needing a 7.20 prior to taking off, McCarthy threw up three amazing turns to get the score required and the win ahead of Greene by just 0.45.
"I couldn't be happier right now," she said.
"It was awesome to share the final with Mikaela, she's such a good surfer and a really good friend.
"I was just really lucky to get my chance at the end of the heat and with waves like we had today I knew I could get a score if I found the right one."
Surfing Western Australia's competition director Justin Majeks was thrilled with the result and the Mandurah Pro's return in 2019.
"It was great we got the chance to get onto the reef breaks today and the waves at Avalon were definitely what you'd ask for on finals day," he said.
"A big congratulations to our event champions and all of our competitors who travelled from far and wide to be here."
The Mandurah Pro saw surfers travel from nine seperate nations to compete in the internationally rated tournament.
The WA Pro Surf Series will continue later this week with the Cape Naturaliste Pro set to commence in Yallingup on Thursday.
