By Jake Howard
That pesky spring wind just won’t quit, but that didn’t stop San Clemente’s Addison McPhillips from showing up and blowing up at last weekend’s NSSA competition at Ponto in Encinitas.
Despite chilly water temps and howling winds, the surf hung in the 3- to 5-foot range and remained fairly contestable. McPhillips stood strong in the highly competitive Open Women’s division, taking her first win of the 2021-22 season.
A savvy competitor, the 16-year-old regular-footer has been putting in the hard yards to get to the top of the podium. Ripping through NSSA, WSA and USA Surfing events over the past few months, she really hit her stride last weekend, when everything came together in one of her best performances of the year to date.
McPhillips, who’s been enjoying the support of Rip Curl and riding Timmy Patterson’s magic sleds, continues to get better and better. A member of the talent-rich McPhillips family, from her siblings to her father, good style and good surfing are in her DNA.
And with summer right around the corner—and, hopefully, warmer water and less wind—bigger and better things are surely on their way for McPhillips.
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