Lakey Peterson takes out Malia Manuel to reach Nike US Open of Surfing final
America’s Lakey Peterson go the better of Hawaii’s Malia Manuel in the first Semi-final at the Nike US Opening of Surfing, the final use of 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Women’s World Championship Tour, which went down at Huntington Beach
in California, America, on Sunday, August 5.
Both the females had been in prime form since the start of the event and put on a series of exquisite performances to gradually make their way through the competition to eventually reach the semi-finals.
The surfing conditions on hand at the primary event site on the latest day of the competition turned out to be pretty good, setting up a nice stage for the climax of what had turned out to be an intense week with plenty of memorable action.
Peterson had been simply exceptional during her heats, using her local knowledge of the waves effectively to continue her successful run during the course of the final stop on the ASP Women’s World Championship Tour.
Manuel, 2012 ASP Rookie of the Year, had been nothing short of impressive either, but definitely had her hands full as she found herself pitted against Peterson in a battle for a title shot.
As the Semi-final got underway, Peterson exhibited a rather conservative strategy, conserving her energy and waiting for the right moment to let it rip. A little past the half-way stage, she detected the opportunity the opportunity she was searching for
and utilised it to earn an 8.77 for the effort. Keeping the momentum going, the American surfer really raised the bar with a perfect 10 ride, moving to a heat-total of 18.77 points.
Manuel displayed a completely different strategy, remaining quite busy with her hunt for a couple of good scores. However, she only managed to score a 6.40 and 8.33 off her best-two waves, consequently finishing with a heat-total of 14.73 points, thus failing
to earn her place in the final of the event.
“It’s my second best result, the Semis, and it’s a really good finish to the year,” Manuel said. “The day before yesterday I knew I just had to make the Quarters to win the Rookie of the Year award and that was my goal. It’s a great award to win especially
with the past rookies that have won and it’s such an honor. Especially this year, the other rookies are so progressive and women’s surfing is at its highest point.”
The surfing action continued at Huntington Beach with the remaining two heats of Nike US Open of Surfing.
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