Courtney's been here before. The Final, that is. And she's won before. This very event, last year. What we're saying is she's familiar with these waters, even though this year the road sure wasn't easy. Beating a highly in-form 3X world champ/3X event winner, Carissa Moore, in the Quarters, it was Conlogue's never-say-die determination that propelled her past Moore.
The scenario got even harrier for Courtney in the Semifinal against 2016 World Champion Tyler Wright. The two actually met in the Quarterfinal of last year's Rip Curl Pro. Astoundingly, midway through the heat Conlogue hadn't even ridden a wave, and was down by 14 points to Wright. It didn't help that she lost priority in the middle of that after paddling for a wave and missing it. But she finally throttled a glassy righthander with about 11 minutes to go, earning a 9.00. She followed up with a 9.33 with just under two minutes to go, making her second-straight Final at Bells Beach.