A glimpse into the future of women's surfing was on display yesterday at Huntington Beach, Calif.

Thanks to 14-year-old Malia Manuel and 17-year-old Coco Ho, Hawai'i appears to be at the forefront.

Manuel won the Women's Honda U.S. Open of Surfing contest yesterday, becoming the youngest champion in the 27-year history of the event.

Manuel, who will turn 15 next month, is a sophomore-to-be at Kapa'a High.

She beat Ho in the one-on-one final held yesterday in 1- to 3-foot waves. Ho is 17 and a senior-to-be at Elite Element Academy.

"I'm so stoked right now," said Manuel, who is from Wailua, Kaua'i. "My sponsors gave me the wildcard into this event and I was just happy to be here. To get to surf against some of my heroes and to be in the final with my friend Coco is just something I would never have dreamed of."

Just last month, Manuel and Ho were representing Hawai'i at the National Scholastic Surfing Association championships.

The U.S. Open is considered one of the largest events on surfing's World Qualifying Series, and many of the top-ranked professional females participated.

Manuel received a score of 7.67 for her opening wave in the 30-minute final and maintained the lead the rest of the way. She finished with a two-wave total of 14.34 to top Ho's score of 7.9.

"There weren't many waves out there this afternoon, which was too bad," Manuel said. "I just got lucky that a couple linked up for me and I was able to get some scores under my belt."

Ho, who is the daughter of famous North Shore surfer Michael Ho, said: "The conditions really came down to the one who got the wave with the wall. I couldn't find my feet, and I had to watch her catch a really good right. It was just cool being in the final because it was my goal just to make the (quarterfinals), so I'm over the moon."

Along the way to the final, Manuel and Ho each scored significant upset victories.

Manuel beat former world champion Sofia Mulanovich of Peru in the quarterfinals, and then eliminated Australia's Sally Fitzgibbons in the quarterfinals. Mulanovich is currently ranked No. 1 on the elite World Championship Tour; Fitzgibbons is ranked No. 1 on the World Qualifying Series.

Ho beat 2007 world champion Stephanie Gilmore of Australia in the semifinals, and Melanie Bartels of Wai'anae in the quarterfinals.

Another young Hawai'i surfer — Kaua'i's Bethany Hamilton, 18 — made a significant charge. The shark-attack survivor advanced to the quarterfinals, then was eliminated by Gilmore.

Earlier in the day, Ho won the junior pro division, which was for surfers age 21 and younger. She beat South Africa's Nikita Robb in the final.

"To be here standing on the beach with the crowd with the (junior pro) title and the runner-up finish in the WQS, I'm really happy," Ho said.

The men's Honda U.S. Open of Surfing will run its final day today at Huntington Beach.

Hawai'i surfers still in contention are Roy Powers, Torrey Meister and Dusty Payne.

Hawai'i surfers in the final of the longboard division are Ned Snow and Noah Shimabukuro.