Owensboro Catholic tennis star boasts perfect record for senior season
(Midway, Ky.) – Following the completion of the high school tennis season, Midway University and the KHSAA presented the Female Student Athlete of the Year award to Caroline Hayden, a senior at Owensboro Catholic High School. A four-year letter winner in tennis, Hayden made waves during her senior season by posting an undefeated 30-0 record (14-0 singles, 16-0 doubles) as she led her team to the Third Regional Championship.
Her coach, Noel Clayton, describes her as, “the most athletic tennis player I have ever coached in my 16 years of coaching.”
In addition to her tennis career, Hayden earned honors in soccer and basketball. As a soccer player, she was named to the KHSAA All-State team for four consecutive years. In basketball, she was honored with the KHSAA Sportsmanship Award and 2016 and was also named to the organization’s All-Tournament team.
Away from competition, Hayden is actively involved in her community, working with Habitat for Humanity, the Special Olympics and the Owensboro Youth Council. She also participates in the National Honor Society and serves as a representative her school’s student council.
“Caroline Hayden is obviously a gifted athlete, but more importantly, she is a strong student and leader among her peers and in her community,” said Rusty Kennedy, Athletics Director at Midway University. “She is exactly the type of young woman this award was created to honor and I’m pleased that we are able to present it to her.”
About the Midway University/KHSAA Female Student Athlete of the Year Awards
Nomination Process:
School administrators and/or coaches can nominate any qualified female high school student-athlete. Players can be nominated and win in more than one sport and are eligible to be nominated and win in multiple years of competition.
Judging Criteria
A panel of judges selected by Midway University and the KHSAA will review all nominations and make the selection of each individual sport Female Student-Athlete of the Year. The nominations will be judged on 60 percent weighting of overall athletic achievement, 20 percent academic achievement and 20 percent community service/leadership. In the event of a tie, the judges will have the discretion to select the final winner. Individual winners in each sport will be eligible for the overall Athlete of the Year Award, which will presented in May 2017.
Nominees must have an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher to qualify and be academically eligible to play in the season in which they are/were nominated.