Santa Barbara’s Lakey Peterson defeated Australia’s Tyler Wright in a two-person heat on Friday at the U.S. Open of Surfing, giving Peterson a spot in Saturday’s semifinals of the Women’s Open competition.
Lakey Peterson at the U.S. Open
It’s the first ever U.S. Open for the 15-year-old Peterson, who’ll be up against Carissa Moore in one semifinal. Brazil’s Jacqueline Silva and Australia’s Sally Fitzgibbons will battle in the other semifinal. At stake is record prize money in women’s surfing, including $50,000 for the champion.
To make the semifinal, Peterson has navigated through a draw filled with the world’s best women’s surfers. Of those remaining, Fitzgibbons is currently ranked No. 2 on the ASP World Tour and No. 1 in the World Rankings while Moore is No. 8 on the World Tour. Wright, Peterson’s victim in the quarters, is No. 2 in the World Rankings.
Peterson does not have a World Ranking because the U.S. Open is her first ASP Prime-rated event. The inexperience didn’t show in her quarterfinal heat, however, as Peterson led most of the heat and edged Wright 10.77 to 10.50.
Saturday’s Women’s semifinals begin at Noon and can be watched live via webcast.
