California underdog steals Open Women title from under the feet of the world's best groms at the 2009 NSSA Nationals.
We had it all wrong. In our NSSA Nationals preview story, we introduced four contestants who seemed most likely to take the Open Women's title this year. But as humans we all make a miscalculation or two, hence the ultimate underdog win by Lakey Peterson at Lowers yesterday.
The Santa Barbara-grown Lakey surprised everyone on the beach with her aggressive, technical surfing, except maybe her friends and family who knew she had what it takes to win all along. And the girl certainly put her time in at Lowers while preparing for Nationals. "I surfed 38 hours in a week," said Lakey. "I really wanted to know that wave like the back of my hand."
The 14-year-old stunned the crowd on her first wave of the Final. Splitting the peak with Courtney Conlogue, Lakey produced a melody of powerful carves and finished her wave with a frontside grab-rail air. As the first girl ever to pull an air at Nationals, Lakey definitely got the judges' attention as she received a 9.0 for that opening ride. "That gave me such a huge confidence boost going into the rest of the heat," admitted Lakey. "Then I got a couple of lefts that just went my way."
Along with cloudless skies and glassy conditions, Lowers brought 2- to 3-foot plus waves for Saturday morning, the ninth and final day of Nationals. But by late morning, a new SW swell began to fill in. And though the midday high tide made for mushy conditions and lulls, the sets made it worth the wait. "The waves are definitely getting better," said 14-year-old Malia Manuel following her Semifinal win. "This morning there was a lot of lulls, but I was just really happy to get one."
"I really can't even believe this is going on. I think I'm dreaming." -- Lakey Peterson
Malia took the lead in the Semis after busting her way to an 8.75 on her first wave. "I got one off the bat and I got really comfortable when there was a lull," said Malia. "But Lakey got a really good wave too, so that was kind of an upset."
Up against two forces to reckon with -- defending National champ, Courtney Conlogue, and Malia, the youngest US Open of Surfing champ to date -- Lakey turned heads in the Semis when she equipped her wave stock with strong front-side power slashes. "I picked off a little left and got a 6.5, after that I paddled back out and the set was still coming in," she said. "Malia paddled for this wave, but I knew she wasn't gonna get it, so I paddled right inside her and took off and the thing just lined up perfectly all the way through."
Lakey put the pressure on by running up her scores from her first ride, a 6.0 down to her last wave, an 8.75. Still, in the end, the Semi belonged to Malia as her powerful carves and hits held down her solid first place position. But Lakey's unexpected performance in the Semis just added fuel to her fire. Her energy seemed to increase as the heat progressed making the Final her launch pad, literally.
Meanwhile, in the other Semifinal, Courtney laid down some powerful maneuvers, delivering snap after snap of spray and tail slides. "I was just having fun out there doing what I do and trying to go out there with a game plan," said Courtney after the Semi. "I'm just going out there trying to figure out where I want to sit and what I want to do and, hopefully, it all falls where it should."
Her powerful carves got her a Semi win, but it didn't quite take the defending champ through the finals where she finished runner-up to Lakey. Though, the two Californians kept the first and second titles at home just like last year when Courtney and Sage Erickson dominated the Open Women division. "I really can't even believe this is going on," said Lakey. "I'm still in shock, I think I'm dreaming."
An unexpected finish to the day gave this grom reason to celebrate. Surfing for 38 hours this past week and utilizing the winter swells at her homebreak, Rincon, gave Lakey a clear understanding of what it means to make her trip from Santa Barbara worth while. A season well finished and a job well done, the groms have one thing set before them, which they've been looking forward to since school began in September: summer.
FINAL RESULTS
OPEN WOMEN
1. Lakey Peterson, CA - 16.75
2. Courtney Conlogue, CA - 14.75
3. Malia Manuel, HI - 14.25
4. Nage Melemed, HI - 13.75
Read the full article at: http://www.surfline.com/women/lakey-peterson-wins-open-women-title-at-2009-nssa-nationals_28030/
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