Lakey Takes on the World

Entering the mid-point of the Association of Surfing Professionals Women’s World Championship Tour, Montecito’s Lakey Peterson seems to just keep surfing better and better. The 17-year-old regular foot, competing in her first full season on the elite contest circuit, had her strongest showing to date last week in New Zealand and currently finds herself ranked number 6 in the world.

Surfing in the TSB Bank New Zealand Surf Festival in Taranaki last week, Peterson made her way to the semi-finals, where she lost to reigning World Champion Carissa Moore by just one point, 12.93 to 11.92. (The scores are based on a 10-point scale with each surfers’ top two waves counting toward their final score.) The result, however, bumped her up in the Overall Tour Standings as the competition heads back to Australia and the Commonwealth Bank Beachley Classic set to get underway later this week on the northern beaches of Sydney.

With her third place showing in New Zealand, Lakey not only saw her total contest winnings on the season go over the $53,000 mark, but the finish also continued her trend of improving results in each contest. She started the year with a 9th place showing in the Roxy Pro on the Gold Coast of Australia followed by a 5th place finish at the Rip Curl Women’s Pro at Bells Beach in early April.

From Australia, the Women’s World Tour goes to Brazil and France before concluding its seven-event season in Huntington Beach later this summer.