Lakey Peterson defeats Carissa Moore to claim Nike US Open of Surfing Title
America’s Lakey Peterson took out the Nike US Open of Surfing, final event on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Women’s World Championship Tour, after getting the better of Hawaii’s Carissa Moore in the Final that went down at Huntington
Beach in California, America, on Sunday, August 5.
The final turned out to be a low-scoring affair, with both the surfers struggling to get their hands on a couple of good scores, but Peterson somehow managed to put just enough score on the scoreboard to walk away with the win.
“I don’t even know what to say – I’m speechless,” Peterson said. “The Final was really slow and I was pretty bummed because I wish we both could have got some really good waves. I’m so stoked and I really wanted to win on a high note.”
The surfing conditions on offer at the main event site had started off great in the morning, but had become quite slow as the day progressed. With the demanding waves on offer, the in-form elite ASP female surfers had their work cut out for them.
Competing in her first ASP Women’s World Tour season, Peterson had exhibited phenomenal skills and confidence as she took on the world’s best female surfers in various surfing locations around the globe. Her run at Huntington Beach in particular was turning
out to be exceptional as she made the most of her local knowledge of the waves.
Moore was also looking in a formidable touch at the final stop on the women’s elite tour, putting on a series of impressive performances over the last few days to gradually make her way into the final. Defeating Australia’s Sally Fitzgibbons in the semi-finals
was just the dose of confidence that she needed before facing-off against an in-form Peterson in a battle for the title.
As the final got underway, Peterson got off to a promising start, locking her first business-wave in the opening minutes of the heat to post a 6.50 on the score-board. However, she lost her momentum as the heat progressed due to the demanding conditions
and only managed to add an additional 4.40 to her account off her second business-wave, thus finishing with a heat-total of 10.90 points.
Moore struggled to find her rhythm and despite a determined effort, only managed to score a 3.47 and 5.17 off her best-two waves for a heat-total of 8.64 points. The 2.26-point deficit caused her to surrender victory and thus the overall event title to Peterson.
With her latest result, Peterson finished the 2012 ASP Women’s World Championship Tour in seventh place, while Moore’s runner-up finish in the latest event moved her to third spot in the season rankings.
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