World title contenders Stephanie Gilmore and Layne Beachley of Australia, and Sofia Mulanovich of Peru advanced to the quarterfinals of the Roxy Pro women's contest yesterday.

The first two rounds of the event were run in wave-face heights that ranged from 10 to 15 feet at Sunset Beach.

Gilmore is currently ranked No. 1, Mulanovich is No. 2, and Beachley is No. 3. The Roxy Pro is the seventh of eight events on the 2008 world tour.

"I was really frustrated with my performance in round one, so I went straight out there and tried to pick off a couple of scores as soon as I could in round two," Gilmore said. "The waves are epic today. We surf fairly small stuff most of the season, so it's awesome to come here to Hawai'i and get to compete in solid waves."

Wai'anae's Melanie Bartels had the best heat of the day, receiving a two-wave score of 18.4 (out of 20) in her first round victory.

Honolulu's Carissa Moore was eliminated in the trials round. Moore, a junior at Punahou School, won the women's contest last week in the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing.

The Roxy Pro is the second of three events in the Triple Crown series.

Also yesterday, the opening rounds of the men's O'Neill World Cup of Surfing ran at Sunset Beach.

Marcus Hickman of Sunset Beach had the best heat of the day, receiving a two-wave score of 17.94, including a near-perfect wave of 9.77.

Other standouts advancing from Hawai'i included Dusty Payne, Hank Gaskell, Bruce Irons and Love Hodel.