2008 USA Surf Team Announced

San Juan Capistrano, Calif. - October 6, 2008 - Surfing America, the national governing body for surfing in the USA, is excited to announce the competition roster for the 2008 ISA World Surfing Games. The Olympic-style event will be held October 11th - 19th in Costa da Caparica, Portugal. Two ASP World Tour surfers - C.J. Hobgood and Ben Bourgeois -- will lead the mens squad. Hobgood heads to Portugal fresh off his win at the Billabong Pro Mundaka, where he beat Australian Joel Parkinson in the final.

"I think we have a very good team with C.J. and Benny," remarked head coach Joey Buran. "This squad is definitely capable of winning a medal."

Joining Hobgood and Bourgeois, will be junior standouts Dillon Perillo (Malibu, California) and Nat Young (Santa Cruz, California). Perillo recently won the Oakley Pro Junior in Newport Beach, California, while Young just won the Billabong Pro Junior in Ponto, California. Perillo and Young were members of the USA's copper medal winning junior team from last May - both finishing in the top eight in Under 18s.

With a women's ASP World Tour event occurring simultaneously with the ISA Games as well as a men's WQS six-star in Brazil, Buran and the Selection Committee looked at all available top-level surfers in America. They selected women's WQS standout Lauren Sweeney (Encinitas, California) along with former PacSun USA Surf Team junior member Demi Boelsterli (Santa Barbara, California) to the womens roster.

The lone longboarder is 2008 U.S. Open of Surfing champion Taylor Jensen (Imperial Beach, California). Jensen will be joined by bodyboarders Jeremy Wright (Long Beach, California), Jacob Romero (Waiehu, Hawaii) and Keila Grodzen (Dana Point, California).

"We're excited about this roster and the direction the program is headed," said Surfing America executive director, Mike Gerard. The ISA World Surfing Games is an incredible global showcase for the sport of surfing and we hope to improve on the USA's bronze medal finish at the last World Games held in Huntington Beach, CA in 2006."

The following is the PacSun USA Surf Team roster for the 2008 ISA World Surfing Games

Mens
C.J. Hobgood
Ben Bourgeois
Dillon Perillo
Nat Young

Womens
Lauren Sweeney
Demi Boelsterli

Longboard
Taylor Jensen

Mens Bodyboard
Jeremy Wright
Jacob Romero

Womens Bodyboard
Keila Grodzen