Oceanside’s Caitlin Simmers talks about surfing the way your typical casual California surfer talks about the sport. “I just like to catch a wave, man,” Simmers said. “It’s beautiful. Just getting on a board and riding it out. There’s nothing like it. It’s impossible to describe.” That laid-back approach and positive attitude has Simmers ranked No. 2 in the world of women’s surfing. She enters this weekend at the Western Australian Margaret River Pro event in second place behind rival and world No. 1 Gabriel Bryan of Hawaii. Simmers and Ryan are the two best female surfers in the world. The two were neck and neck after some sets on Thursday and Friday and that is how the rivalry has developed in recent years. This season, Simmers won the Surf Abu Dhabi Pro and finished second at the Lexus Pipe Pro to Australia’s Tyler Wright. Bryan won the Surf City El Salvador Pro and finished third in Abu Dhabi. The 19-year-old Simmers is just hitting her prime. She said she loves living the Oceanside lifestyle. “All my friends live here, the waves are consistent and there’s a cool skate park, so I have everything I need,” Simmers said. “I just try to have fun, surf whenever I want and take it one day at a time, whether it’s a contest or not.” Simmers won the ISA U-16 World Junior Championship and also won the National Scholastic Southwest Conference U-12 division in 2018. In 2020, Simmers won the Super Girl Pro and in 2021 she captured the U.S. Open of surfing as a 15-year-old, making her the second youngest to ever capture that event. In September, she became the youngest female surfer to capture the World Surf League Finals, beating world champion Caroline Marks in the process. “I’ve always wanted to win a world title,” Simmer said. “Once you get to the higher levels you realize you are doing it all to just try and get on tour and win a world title. So, to actually do it feels surreal. This is crazy.” Legion seeks postseason spot The San Diego Legion (7-7) suffered a potentially crippling 29-25 loss at Seattle last Saturday and now need to win their final two matches and get some help to make the Major League Rugby playoffs. The Legion are in third place heading into next Friday’s game at Miami and close the season hosting Old Glory D.C. on June 7. The Legion need the Utah Warriors and Houston SaberCats to lose each of their final games to make the playoffs. The San Diego Strike Force (3-4) are coming off a 49-48 loss at San Antonio heading into today’s 6:05 p.m. kickoff against Northern Arizona at Frontwave Arena. The game is honoring AANHPI Month, celebrating Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders. • The San Diego Rebellion of the Women’s National Football Conference completed the regular season a perfect 6-0 with a 33-0 road win over the Denver Bandits last weekend. The Rebellion will be the top seed in the WNFC playoffs on June 5 in Portland, Ore.