SPORTS EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a the first in a series of stories about Incline High School seniors who are headed to college to play sports.

After shining for four years on the links of Nevada, Incline High School senior Shelby Hooper is taking her golf game to California State University, Chico.

Hooper signed a letter of intent last week to play golf at Chico next year for the Wildcats. The team wears the colors Cardinal and White, is a NCAA Division II school and plays in the California Collegiate Athletic Association.

“I really like her enthusiasm,” said Chico women’s golf coach Kathy Dais. “We always need somebody who is fresh and ready to work and she’s got a great work ethic.”
Hooper is the back-to-back Nevada state runner-up in golf to IHS teammate and sophomore Katelyn Wright, a co-MVP of the IHS golf team. Hooper said she will attend Chico on a partial athletic scholarship.

“I visited and really liked the campus, I think it’s a good fit for me,” Hooper said. “The team plays on some really nice courses.”

Hooper said she restricted her college choices to California because she wanted to remain in the sunshine.

Dais said Shelby Hooper’s golf game impressed her when the incoming freshman came to hit balls for the coach earlier this year. Dais said golfers at all levels need to work on their short game, especially college freshmen.

“I actually think my strength is putting, but I always want to work on my short game, I think that’s important for all golfers,” Hooper said. “I think this summer I’m going to mainly work on my alignment when I play.”

Bill Devine and Joe Humasti, who coached Hooper during her time as a Highlander varsity basketball player and golfer, respectively, said Chico is getting a great athlete and person.

“She is a great, smart kid and is very coachable,” Devine said.

Humasti coached Hooper at state championship tournaments and marveled at her maturity.

“Shelby has shown a lot of character. She has never let defeat get her down, and that has made her a better player," Humasti said. “In my 21 years of coaching golf, she has had one of the greatest attitudes I’ve ever seen. She took Katelyn under her wing and really was a role model for her, and even when she lost to Katelyn the past two years, she took it very graciously. That's why I look for her to go a long way, because of her tremendous attitude.”

Dais said Hooper’s emphasis on good academics is another attractive feature of the Incline product.

“I have a lot of academic All-Americans on my team and the fact that she is strong academically is important to me because I like to have smart kids on my team,” Dais said.

According to the team’s Web site, Chico is currently ranked ninth in the NCAA Division II Western Region.