Melanie Bartels is back.

Bartels highlighted her year of retribution by winning the Roxy Pro women's surfing contest yesterday.

The final day of the prestigious event was run in 4- to 6-foot waves at Sunset Beach.

"Something came over me in this contest, I don't know what it was," said Bartels, who is from Wai'anae. "In the past, I would give up somewhere along the way. This time I just kept going."

Bartels did it in dramatic fashion, catching a winning wave in the last minute of the final heat.

"I don't know where that wave came from, but when it did, I knew I had to do what ever I could with it," she said. "The waves were shifting all day, so it was hard to find. I'm just happy that one came to me."

Bartels was in second place for most of the 30-minute heat, but when her last wave rolled in, she completed one hard turn and then got a brief barrel ride. She received a score of 7.33 (out of 10) to give her a two-wave total of 14.16.

"I'm always nervous in a heat," Bartels said. "But I told myself not to give up because it's not over."

Australia's Stephanie Gilmore led for most of the final, but wound up in second place with a two-wave score of 13.5.

The Roxy Pro was the second of three events in the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing for women. Gilmore has placed second in both of the contests, and has a commanding lead in the overall Triple Crown standings.

Kaua'i's Rochelle Ballard placed third, and Australia's Chelsea Georgeson was fourth.

The Triple Crown for women started in 1997, and Bartels is the first surfer from Hawai'i to win a women's contest at Sunset Beach since then.

Bartels said her "Aunty" Cathy Beauford — another Wai'anae surfer — reminded her of that fact yesterday.

"Aunty Cathy told me, 'why have this contest if we're going to let the other girls beat us? This is Hawai'i, so we should be the ones winning,' " Bartels said. "I can't believe I was the one to do it."

The Roxy Pro was also part of the 2006 World Championship Tour for women.

Bartels was a member of the elite WCT in 2004 and '05, but her poor performances dropped her down to the World Qualifying Series this year. When she was on the WCT in '04 and '05, she never made it to the quarterfinals in any contest.

For this week's Roxy Pro, she had to qualify for the contest through a separate trials event.

"I know I can surf on this level, and I'm going to try and stay focused for next year," said Bartels, 24.

She will get another chance, since she has requalified for the 2007 WCT. She received $10,000 for yesterday's victory.

Interestingly, there were two wildcard spots available for the Roxy Pro, and Bartels and Gilmore took it.

"I looked to the right and left of me and saw the future of women's surfing," Ballard said of Bartels and Gilmore. "It's so amazing to bring it back to Hawai'i. (Bartels) pulled one for the team."

Australians Layne Beachley and Melanie Redman-Carr were eliminated in the semifinals. They entered the contest ranked No. 1 and 2, respectively.

Because neither of them won the contest, the world title race will be decided in the final event — the Billabong Pro Maui next week at Honolua Bay. No. 3 Georgeson, who is the defending world champion, also has a shot at the 2006 world title.

ROXY PRO

FINAL RESULTS

1, Melanie Bartels (Hawai'i), $10,000. 2, Stephanie Gilmore (Australia), $6,000. 3, Rochelle Ballard (Hawai'i), $4,400. 4, Chelsea Georgeson (Australia), $4,100. 5 (tie), Megan Abubo (Hawai') and Layne Beachley (Australia), $3,600. 7 (tie), Sofia Mulanovich (Peru) and Melanie Redman-Carr (Australia), $3,400. 9 (tie), Keala Kennelly (Hawai'i), Claire Bevilacqua (Australia), Jessi Miley-Dyer (Australia) and Serena Brooke (Australia), $3,100. 13 (tie), Jacqueline Silva (Brazil), Samantha Cornish (Australia), Heather Clark (South Africa) and Rebecca Woods (Australia), $2,900.

SLATER, IRONS ADVANCE IN MEN'S WORLD CUP

The third round of the O'Neill World Cup of Surfing was also run yesterday at Sunset Beach.

Eight-time world champion Kelly Slater of Florida and defending Triple Crown of Surfing champion Andy Irons from Kaua'i both advanced under stressful circumstances.

Slater showed up late for his heat, but rallied to victory. He had 19 minutes to catch waves while the other three surfers in his heat had 25 minutes. Still, Slater won the heat to advance to the fourth round.

Irons trailed late in his third-round heat, but received a score of 8.5 for his final wave in the closing minute to advance.

Irons won the first event of the men's Triple Crown last week at Hale'iwa, so he maintained his lead in the race for the 2006 Triple Crown title.

Other Hawai'i surfers advancing were Pancho Sullivan, Dustin Cuizon, Kekoa Bacalso and Jason Shibata.

Hawai'i surfers eliminated yesterday were Ola Eleogram, Nathan Carroll, Roy Powers, Bruce Irons and Joel Centeio.

Australian Jake Paterson, who won the World Cup last year at Sunset Beach, was eliminated.

The men's World Cup needs one more day of competition to determine a winner. Contest officials have until Wednesday to run the final day.

For daily status of the contest, call 596-7873 or visit www.triplecrownofsurfing.com.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.