SANTA CRUZ, California/USA (Thursday, October 21, 2010) - The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) PRIME O'Neill Cold Water Classic California marched through 22 heats of the Round of 96 with former ASP Dream Tour veteran Dayyan Neve (North Steyne, AUS), 32, igniting the event's top scores in firing three-to-five foot ( 1.5 metre) waves at Steamer Lane.

Surfers competing in the O'Neill Cold Water Classic California are looking to capitalize on the event's ASP PRIME rating points to either maintain their position on or qualify for the prestigious ASP World Tour.

Neve got off to a sluggish start in his bout against current ASP World Tour campaigner Bobby Martinez (Santa Barbara, CA), 28, young Hawaiian John Florence (North Shore, HI), and Eric Geiselman (New Smyrna Beach, FL), 22, but built momentum throughout the back half of his heat to eventually capture the day's highest single wave score of a near perfect 9.33 out of 10 en route to the day's highest heat-total of 17.56 out of 20 with calculated rail-work on Steamer Lane's iconic right-handers.

"I was only in rhythm at the end," Neve said. "The beginning was a little bit dodgy. I sort of blew two waves and didn't really surf them that well and luckily a wave came to me and I surfed it well enough to get a score. I've only had a few surfs out here at Steamer Lane, but I loved it."

Neve, who was a full-time ASP Dream Tour campaigner in 2009, reveled in Steamer Lane's pumping conditions rather than focusing on his quest for requalification for the ASP World Tour.

"I haven't got any real good results this year," Neve said. "For me, I'm just having a good time surfing a perfect pointbreak with only four guys out."

Nathaniel Curran (Oxnard, CA), 26, was another competitor who relied on powerful rail-to-rail surfing while posting an impressive 15.67 heat total to start off his O'Neill Cold Water Classic California campaign. The talented regular-footer jumped out to an early lead in his Round 2 matchup, and carried the lead throughout the heat's entirety.

"Everyone was playing cat and mouse out the back and trying to get in position and I had a bit of luck," Curran said. "I caught that one wave and to get that off of the start was a buffer. I feel good with the cold water and booties, and I've been coming up to Santa Cruz for awhile, so I'm used to it."

Curran, who is fresh off of an equal 9th place finish at the O'Neill Cold Water Classic Canada, carried his competitive mindset to California to take out his heat win over an impressive field including former ASP Dream Tour surfer Blake Thornton (Sydney, AUS), 25.

"I think surfing a bunch of heats before coming into this event definitely helps," Curran said. "It just helps your frame of mind and out here (Steamer Lane) it's kind of all about getting the waves, it's kind of tricky out there. I'm just stoked to get those two waves."

The hard-working Californian is also out to capitalize on the crucial ratings points on offer at the ASP PRIME event to increase his chances of eventually requalifying for the ASP Dream Tour.

"I'm definitely trying to get back on tour, that's the goal," Curran said. "Obviously this year is kind of a weird one with all of the changes, but we'll see how it ends up. It doesn't change my attitude towards the year. I love competing and doing contest and obviously want to be back on tour."

The O'Neill Cold Water Classic California is the last of five stops on the O'Neill Cold Water Classic series, with the series' winner taking an additional $50,000.

The O'Neill Cold Water Classic California holds a waiting period from October 18 through 24, 2010 and will be webcast LIVE via http://www.oneill.com/cwc/california

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