- WSL / Daniel Smorigo

On Friday, action continued on Day 2 of the World Surf League (WSL) Men's and Women's QS 1000 Circuito Banco do Brasil de Surfe in rippable waves at Praia da Ferrugem, in Garopaba, Brazil. The day began with completion of the Round of 64 in the Men's division before moving on to thrilling competitiveness at the Women's QS 1000 in front of an avid surf audience.

The fans at Praia da Ferrugem were gifted with electrifying performances from crowd favorites Silvana Lima (BRA) and Sophia Medina (BRA). Lima, who is sponsored by BB Asset Management, looked fiery in her opening heat and Medina was surrounded on the shoreline after a come-from-behind win in the final minutes of her heat.

"It's such a nice feeling to have so much support from the crowd here. It's an honor to feel that energy, it makes me feel grateful and motivates me even more," said Medina, who will be leaving for Australia after the contest to compete at the Challenger Series events. "This is my last event here before the Challenger, but I want to stay in the present here without thinking too far ahead," stated Medina, younger sister of 3-time WSL World Champion Gabriel Medina (BRA), who announced his return to competition on the Championship Tour (CT) at stop 6 of the CT calendar in G-Land earlier today.

Sophia Medina Sophia Medina (BRA) during her post heat interview at the Circuito Banco do Brasil de Surfe in Garopaba. - WSL / Daniel Smorigo

Medina still has a tough road ahead as she will face the likes of Dominic Barona (ECU), Juliana Meneguel (BRA) and Silvana Lima (BRA) in Heat 3 of the Round of 16.

However, it was the scintillating duo of Peruvian surfers, Daniella Rosas (PER) and Sol Aguirre (PER), who earned the highest scores of the day. Rosas began the day by earning the highest single-wave score of an 8.17 by throwing a flurry of backhand snaps on a lefthander. Aguirre added to the Peruvian dominance in the last heat of the day, receiving a 6.83 and a 7.30 on her two best rides for a 14.13 total, the highest of the day.

"It feels good to start off with a heat win in my third consecutive event, but honestly, regardless of your last result, you always start from zero, so you just need to take it step by step," said Rosas, who is coming off two consecutive Qualifying Series (QS) victories. "I was able to adapt well to the waves and feel ready for the next heat."

Daniella Rosas Daniella Rosas (PER) continues her torrid pace at the Circuito Banco do Brasil de Surfe in Garopaba. - WSL / Daniel Smorigo

In the Men's division, Santiago Muniz (ARG) is the lone athlete from Argentina who will be competing on the 2022 Challenger Series. Muniz completed a huge rotating air for an 8.83, in addition to a 6.67 for a 15.50 total.

"Ferrugem always has great waves, but it was a tough heat against good friends that I always meet at events and I've known for so long," stated Muniz after his heat against Peterson Crisanto (BRA), Thiago Eduardo (BRA) and Patrick Plachi (BRA). "But there's still a long road ahead. I'm stoked to have all these events in Brazil this year and I look real forward to competing in Australia," finished Muniz.

Santiago Muniz Santiago Muniz (ARG) during his high score air at the Circuito Banco do Brasil de Surfe in Garopaba. - WSL / Daniel Smorigo

Competition at the Men's and Women's QS 1000 Circuito Banco do Brasil de Surfe will continue tomorrow with an 8:00 a.m. (GMT-3) call. In addition to all the action in the ocean, several activations provided by Banco do Brasil have been set up along the beach at Ferrugem that include free surf lessons, yoga, beach tennis, artwork, a kid's area, native vegetation plantation and local shops that are run by Banco do Brasil clients. For more information, please got to WorldSurfLeague.com

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