Another day of good conditions meant another day of good results for the Hawai'i surfers in the Rip Curl Pro Pipeline Masters.

The second round of the prestigious contest was completed yesterday in barreling 6- to 8-foot waves at the Banzai Pipeline.

Sixteen surfers advanced through yesterday's heats, including seven from Hawai'i.

"All the Hawai'i guys are solidifying the format by making it through," North Shore surfer Jamie Sterling said. "It's supposed to get bigger later this week, so I think we'll excel even more if it is bigger."

After the second round was completed at mid-day, the Foster's Expression Session was run in the afternoon.

Kaua'i's Bruce Irons and Australia's Jake Paterson shared top honors.

Any surfer could enter the expression session, and the winner would be the one who caught the best wave. Irons and Paterson each received $2,000 because they both got perfect 10s for long barrel rides.

"I wasn't going to do it because my ankle is a little sore, but the waves are really good," Irons said. "Hopefully, it'll stay good and I can keep the roll going."

One more full day of competition is required to determine a Pipeline Masters champion.

"The waves are good right now, but hopefully, it'll get bigger and better," Irons said.

In any case, Hawai'i will be well-represented. There are 32 surfers remaining in the third round, and 15 are from Hawai'i.

"This is our backyard, so it's important for us to show what we can do here," Sterling said.

Of the 15 remaining Hawai'i surfers, 11 are "wildcard" entries. The field for the Pipeline Masters was expanded this year to include 16 wildcard entries from Hawai'i. Through the first two rounds, only five of the Hawai'i wildcards have been eliminated.

"It's pretty much the pinnacle of what we all look at — this is the biggest contest in the world," said Maui's Ian Walsh, who was one of the wildcards advancing. "You look at the list of names who have won it, and it's pretty much all my favorite surfers."

Walsh did his best yesterday to try and join the list. He was one of the standouts of the second round, receiving a two-wave score of 15.96. On his best wave, he received a near-perfect score of 9.63 for riding through a long barrel and then surviving a dive into a sandbar at the end of the ride.

"Nowhere else to go," he said. "I was going too fast to try and kick out or turn. Just go straight into the sand. Luckily, it's not reef."

The Hawai'i surfers advancing yesterday were Sterling, Walsh, Roy Powers, Tamayo Perry, Tory Barron, Makuakai Rothman and Dustin Barca.

Rothman, another wildcard, beat former Pipeline Masters champions Mark Occhilupo and Rob Machado to win his second-round heat. Machado also advanced by placing second (the top two from each four-man heat advanced), but Occhilupo was eliminated.

Occhilupo, who is from Australia, won the Pipeline Masters in 1985, when Rothman was 1.

Several of Hawai'i's top surfers received byes in the second round, including Andy Irons, Bruce Irons and Jamie O'Brien. That trio has combined to win the last five Pipeline Masters — Andy Irons in 2002, '03 and '05, Bruce Irons in '01, and O'Brien in '04.

Andy Irons is also the current leader in the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing overall standings, and his path was cleared a little yesterday.

The Pipeline Masters is the third, and final, jewel in the Triple Crown of Surfing.

Australia's Joel Parkinson, who was the closest to Irons in the Triple Crown standings, was eliminated yesterday.

The Hawai'i surfers were not the only standouts yesterday. The world's top-ranked surfers also proved their worth in the second round.

Current world champion Kelly Slater of Florida won his heat with a two-wave score of 14.43. He owns a record eight world titles and five Pipeline Masters championships.

World No. 2 Mick Fanning of Australia received a perfect 10 for a long barrel through Backdoor Pipeline.

"I saw it and knew it was going to be a nuts one," he said. "I was just lucky I was in a position to go. I think that's probably the best wave I've ever had out at Backdoor."

World No. 3 Taj Burrow of Australia had the best heat of the day, receiving a two-wave total of 17.07.

The final day of competition will run when conditions are favorable. For status of the contest, call 596-7873 or visit http://triplecrownofsurfing.com.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.