VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - The East Coast Surfing Championships, in its 57th year of competition, held finals Sunday afternoon and featured two local surfers.
Hampton Roads surfer Michael Dunphy competes in 2019 East Coast Surfing Championship finals
Hampton Roads native Michael Dunphy made it to the men's final, which was determined in the final 20 seconds of the heat. Dunphy had a strong finish on the final wave, but finished in second place after Luke Gordon ended his final wave with a score of 9.
"I wanted to win, but if you were to tell me at the beginning of the week that I got second it's a good result for me," Dunphy said. "Obviously going into the final you want to get first place, in front of all of my friends and family. Big difference between first and second."
Hampton Roads surfer Nick Copenhaver wins 2019 East Coast Surfing Championships longboard final
While Dunphy fell just short of first place, another local surfer won in his first finals appearance. Nick Copenhaver took home first place in the longboard finals.
"I found the right waves and just killed it," Copenhaver said. "It feels amazing. This is the first time I've won. To all the people that didn't vote me for senior superlative biggest beach bum, look at me now."
