LIHU‘E — Kelli Oride is going to be a Fighting Irish. Oride, a senior at Kaua‘i High School, signed a letter of intent to play golf at Notre Dame University starting in the fall. “All of Kaua‘i is so proud
LIHU‘E — Kelli Oride is going to be a Fighting Irish.
Oride, a senior at Kaua‘i High School, signed a letter of intent to play golf at Notre Dame University starting in the fall.
“All of Kaua‘i is so proud of you,” said Kaua‘i Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. who was one of the first to congratulate the daughter of Dr. Michael and Gail Oride of Lihu‘e. “I got to know Kelli when she served as Mayor for a Day, and she is going to be doing things that make Kaua‘i proud. We’ll be following her trip through Notre Dame and supporting her on her journey.”
Ross Shimabukuro, the Kaua‘i High School athletic director, said Oride is a three-time (the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation golf season has not started, yet) KIF medalist and a two-time state runner-up. The first KIF golf match in the 2010-2011 is scheduled for Feb. 26 on the newly-renovated Po‘ipu Bay Golf Course, starting at noon.
Additionally, Oride has two American Junior Golf Association wins under her belt and finished seventh at the Annika Invitational.
Shimabukuro said she is ranked 42 in the Golfweek Ranking and has a 23 Polo Ranking, Class of 2011.
The letter of intent seals the recruiting process, Shimabukuro said. With her signature, Oride accepts Notre Dame’s athletic scholarship offer and binds her to Notre Dame for a year.
He said Notre Dame’s scholarship offer is generous in that it is a “full ride,” including books.
In many cases, athletes are offered segment scholarships where only certain portions of their attendance are covered, but in Oride’s case, everything has been covered.
“And, it’s renewable,” Shimabukuro said, noting that Oride’s performance will be reviewed after her first year.
The signing brought back memories to Carvalho who said his signing took place in his living room, and in those days, the coaches could be present.
Things have changed, and when Oride put her signature to the letter, coaches are not allowed to be present.
Oride’s brother, Cory, is currently with the University of Hawai‘i golf team along with T.J. Kua, another Lihu‘e native.
Oride joins other Hawai‘i State Junior Golf Association golfers who signed letters of intent, Wednesday at the opening of the 2010 Asia Pacific Junior Cup at the Waikoloa Kings’ Course.
Players signing at the ceremony included Cyd Okino of Honolulu who signed to the University of Washington, Alina Ching of Honolulu who signed to Pepperdine University, Cassy Isagawa of Maui who signed to the University of Oregon, Ryan Kuroiwa of Aiea, O‘ahu, who will be playing at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, and Alice Kim of Honolulu who signed to Gonzaga University.
