[ad_1]
PALAU — Momo Saruang Ueki, a soccer star who holds dual Palauan and Japanese citizenship, has committed to attend UCLA. The 18-year-old forward, a member of the Japanese national team, chose UCLA despite scholarship offers from Harvard, the University of Nebraska and other top U.S. schools.
Born in Japan to a Palauan father and a Japanese mother, Ueki has been playing soccer since she was 8 years old. She excels on and off the field, having achieved a perfect 4.0 grade point average at the recent Asian Cup, leading Japan to a second-place finish. She was the team’s leading scorer this year.
“Momo is doing what she loves and she is on track to achieve most, if not all, of her academic and athletic goals,” said her father, Star Ueki, who added that his daughter will play in the World Cup later this year and aims to play in Europe’s top women’s league after graduating from college.
Ueki was named after her Palauan great-grandmother, Saruang Ngoriakl, who was married to Chief Ibedul Ngoriakl.
“Momo still has a long way to go, but she will definitely achieve everything she wants to do,” Star Ueki said.
Related
[ad_2]
Source link
