Shantel Antonio enjoys the challenge of golf, but on equal footing is the camaraderie that can found, even among the competition.
The recent Kamehameha graduate signed to play for the UH-Hilo women’s golf team, which has two other homegrown products in Andi Igawa, a 2014 Waiakea graduate, and Alison Tengan, a 2012 Waiakea grad.
Antonio graduated with a 3.5 GPA and will major in biology, with an emphasis in pre-med, and plans to become a pediatrician.
She had about a half-dozen scholarships offers, but several strong connections weighed in her decision to stay home.
“I wanted to stay close to my swing coach, Lee Hardy, and I like the team’s environment,” Antonio said. “There are a lot of talented players I want the chance to play with.
“Coach Lee really helps me with my mindset, to stay level-headed and not let the emotions get the best of me.”
The best example of Antonio’s outlook can be found at the BIIF championships, where she finished second to Waiakea freshman Kaley Saludares, who won by three strokes with a two-round 160 total.
Antonio entered the second round with a three-shot lead, and took a seven on the 18th hole at Hokulia back in late April, missing a chance to break one of the league’s greatest streaks in history.
A Waiakea golfer has won the last 12 BIIF titles. The historic list includes: Amanda Wilson, 2004; Christine Kim, 2005; Nicole Aoki, 2006; Britney Yada, 2007-09; Nani Yanagi, 2010; Shaina Mizusawa, 2011; Ciera Min, 2012-13; Igawa, 2014; and Saludares, 2015. (Hilo’s Kira-Ann Murashige won in 2003.)
“I felt disappointed to not win, but I was happy to see one of my close friends win,” said Antonio, who was reminded of a life lesson from her parents. “They’ve told me to never give up and always persevere.”
She’s the daughter of Ken Antonio, who owns Ken’s Towing, and Susan Lewis, who works at Ford.
Kamehameha coach Bob Roman gave Antonio one of the all-time competitor compliments, when asked for a description on her.
“Shantel loves golf. More than anyone I ever coached in any sport, she is so into her sport,” he said. “I am convinced that she will soon be shooting consistently in the 70s. She has the game. She just needs to put it together.”
Antonio didn’t start playing golf until she was a freshman at Kamehameha. It’s almost by accident that she was interested in the first place.
“I used to catch the school bus, and it stopped at the (Hilo Muni) driving range,” she said. “I saw the team practicing and went to talk to the coach, and he told me to try it. I ended up liking it.
“I like the closeness of being on a team and it’s a fun sport and challenging. Coach Roman was always pushing me to know I can do things, and I just needed to believe in myself. I had to keep trying and eventually things will work out.”
Antonio will spend her summer working on her game.
“I’m going to play in the Maui Open in August, and then work with coach Lee to improve my game, and get more confidence in my game as well,” she said. “When I was a freshman, I never even conceived of getting a scholarship. I’m grateful and it feels really good.”