Sage Erickson is catching waves—and feelings—this summer.
For the next week, the professional surfer will compete for her third win at the U.S. Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach, Calif. And while all eyes will be on the 31-year-old as she surfs her way to another potential victory, some are just as invested in her romance with MLB player Daniel Norris.
"He's just incredible," Sage exclusively shared with E! News from Surf City. "We actually met on Instagram when Instagram suggested three people to follow when you're browsing and he was one of them."
After Daniel posted a photo of some surfboards, Sage said she decided to slide into his DMs first. A year and a half later and the pair remains each other's biggest cheerleaders.
"I love him and I love that we're both athletes and we can understand what we go through," she said. "We very much understand long distance. We understand wins and losses and ups and downs and staying positive and we're probably both a little bit crazy at this point from our sports and trying to adapt and stay on it."
Daniel was unable to be at the U.S. Open to cheer Sage on as he recently signed with the Detroit Tigers in the middle of a busy MLB season. But when they are able to spend time together, these two enjoy date nights at the movies or a quiet night at home binge watching their favorite shows.
"The show we're currently into right now is called Colony," Sage said. "We're on season three and it's kind of futuristic, a little bit alien-esque and we totally binge that. We also love Only Murders in the Building."
The duo also dreams of attending a Jack Johnson concert after the singer's album persuaded Daniel to get into surfing.
While Sage initially had doubts that her boyfriend could actually catch a wave—after all, anyone can pose with a surfboard online—she was more than pleasantly surprised at what she learned.
"That was something also that I fell in love with is that he rips and he surfs really good and he knows so much about board design," Sage said. "He's got such a great style. It's been an amazing thing for us to share. We love getting party waves together."
Before catching waves at the U.S. Open, Sage participated in Shiseido Blue Project's Oyster Restoration with Orange County Coastkeeper. As a surfer, Sage explained that it's important to give back to non-profits committed to ocean conservation.
After all, she's inspired by the next generation of young surfers who are hoping to experience the joys of catching a wave in the ocean blue water for many years to come.
"Surfing is so special and once you feel that feeling, it's like nothing you felt before," Sage explained. "You have to be in perfect timing and perfect flow to catch that wave and to stand up. You truly feel like you're a part of something special. That just resonates and it carries through the rest of your life."