Kaua‘i surfers Malia Manuel finished an equal third at the Nike U.S. Open of Surfing and Leila Hurst finished second in the Junior Pro at the Nike U.S. Open of Surfing at Huntington Beach, Calif. Sunday. Lakey Peterson, 17, defeated
Kaua‘i surfers Malia Manuel finished an equal third at the Nike U.S. Open of Surfing and Leila Hurst finished second in the Junior Pro at the Nike U.S. Open of Surfing at Huntington Beach, Calif. Sunday.
Lakey Peterson, 17, defeated Hawai‘i’s Carissa Moore, 19, to clinch the final event of the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals Women’s World Championship Tour season before a capacity crowd at Huntington Beach.
Manuel, matching up against Peterson in the 30-minute semifinals, could only card waves of 8.33 and 6.40 for a heat score of 14.73 while Peterson ended the heat with an 18.77 to advance.
Following the event, Manuel will finish the ASP Women’s World Tour with a No. 6 ranking.
“It’s my second best result, the semis, and it’s a really good finish to the year,” Manuel said in an ASP release.
“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 who have won, and it’s such an honor. Especially this year, the other rookies are progressive and women’s surfing is at its highest point.”
Peterson, in her first year among the women’s elite, capped off her season on a high note, bettering last year’s runner-up finish at the Nike U.S. Open where she competed as a wildcard.
“I’ve been staying calm and sticking to my game plan,” said Peterson, who finished the 2012 ASP Women’s World Championship Tour season in seventh place. “I haven’t been letting anything else faze me and I’ve been staying focused and going out and surfing and having a really good time. I’ve loved every minute of this event and it’s been great.”
Hurst, surfing in the Junior Women division of the Nike U.S. Open of Surfing, was ousted in the finals by Nikki Van Dijk, Hurst locking in a solid 12.33 performance by unable to catch the 14.90 carded by Van Dijk. Third place in the finals heat went to Quincy Davis (11.83) with Kaleigh Gilchrist (11.30) rounding out the heat.
Visit www.aspworldtour.com and www.usopenofsurfing.com for more information.
