Strong performances by Whangamata surfer Ella Williams and Taranaki's Paige Hareb have helped the New Zealand surfing team climb three places to eighth on the team rankings in the ISA World Surfing Games at Popoyo Beach, Nicaragua.

Whangamata surfer Ella Williams. Photo: ISA/Nelly.

The Kiwi girls won their third round match ups in the competition in Central America, with two days of competition remaining.

The surf continued to pump on day five of the event with clean 1.5m-2m waves and light offshore winds all day.Williams was the first to strike with a 15.27 point heat total to progress through to the last six surfers in the qualifying rounds. The Whangamata surfer advanced alongside Chelsea Tauch (BAR) and together the two surfers pushed Australian Codie Klein and Argentinian Lucia Cosoleto to the reperchage rounds.

Williams thanked the conditions which allowed her to post yet another high heat score.'The waves were pumping. It was great to have good waves on offer to let us show what we can do.” Despite the great run of form, Williams is not letting her high scores impact on her future heats.

'I have just been taking it heat by heat and I want to continue to better myself in each round.

'Mostly I am just not thinking too far ahead, focusing on the one heat I am about to surf and knowing that I can go all the way if I perform to my own expectations.”

Hareb contested the heat immediately after Williams and was quick to rectify her slow start from the day prior, posting a great first wave and leading the heat from start to finish ending with a 15.93 point heat total.

'Friday's heat was horrible and way too close for comfort so it was a good wake-up call and I definitely planned to get a quick start in Saturday's heat,” says Hareb.

She could not hear the heat scores for the first half of the heat so continued to catch waves and build her score line before realising she held the lead.

'At that point I began to settle and try wait for the better waves,” added Hareb.

The two surfers remain on opposite sides of the draw and will contest three-person heats on Sunday morning, starting at 7am (NZT).

Hareb will face off against Jessica Anderson (CHI) and Chelsea Tuach (BAR) while Williams will surf against Teresa Bonvalot (POR) and Tia Blanco (USA).Bowing out of the Men's Division on Saturday was Dunedin surfer JC Susan.

Susan came up against three Portuguese team mates and again found himself being hassled for waves and getting a slow start to the heat as a result. Susan waited for the bigger waves to roll in but eventually succumbed to the massive lead of Vasco Ribeiro and Miguel Blanco.

Susan finished the heat in fourth place and 31st overall as the top lace Kiwi male at the event.

Day six is the penultimate day of the event with Paige Hareb (Tara) and Ella Williams (WGM) the last two Kiwis in the event.

Please see below for team standings and results from the fifth day of the 2015 ISA World Surfing Games being held at Popoyo Beach, Nicaragua.

You can watch the event live from 2am (NZT) each morning.

Team Points 1 Peru 4810 2 Portugal 4310 3 Argentina 4275 4 Australia 4140 4 Costa Rica 3940 6 Ecuador 3865 7 USA 3724 8 New Zealand 2844 9 Mexico 2650 10 Chile 2560

Open Women's Qualifying Round 3

Heat 2 Ella Williams (NZL) 15.27, 1, Chelsea Tuach (BAR) 12.50, 2, Codie Klein (AUS) 11.54, Lucia Cosoleto (ARG) 11.36, 4

Heat 3 Paige Hareb (NZL) 15.93, 1, Tia Blanco (USA) 14.13, 2, Leilani McGonagle (CRI) 12.03, 3, Philippa Anderson (AUS) 9.50, 4

Open Men's Reperchage Round 4

Heat 3 Vasco Ribeiro (POR) 15.93, 1, Miguel Blanco (POR) 13.60, Jose Ferreira (POR) 9.93, 3, JC Susan (NZL) 6.06, 4