Two events into the 2012 edition of the Association of Surfing Professionals Women’s World Tour and there is little doubt that Montecito’s Lakey Peterson is among the best female wave riders on the planet. The 17-year-old regular foot, competing in her first season on the elite tour, rode her way to the quarterfinals last week at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach in Australia where she lost a closely contested heat to eventual contest winner and Australian native Sally Fitzgibbons. Coupled with her ninth place showing last month in the season’s first contest, Peterson currently finds herself ranked number 7 in the world. Next up for her is the TSB Bank New Zealand Surf Festival, kicking off this week in Taranaki, New Zealand.