SUWANEE, Ga. - Recent Trinity
University graduate Hayley Emerick has been named the 2011 Southern
Collegiate Athletic Conference Woman of the Year and will be the
conference’s nominee for NCAA Woman of the Year.
The NCAA Woman of the Year Award honors graduating student-athletes
who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate
careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence,
community service and leadership.
Emerick is the second former Trinity student-athlete to be
recognized as SCAC Woman of the Year. Christyn Schumann won the
first award in 2006.
“Hayley Emerick is an NCAA champion who has also excelled
academically and in campus and community activities,” said
Bob King, Director of Athletics at Trinity. “She is one of
the most accomplished student-athletes I have been involved with in
my 23 years as a Division III athletic director. In addition to her
success, Hayley is a true joy to be around as a human
being.”
Emerick, a Business Administration (Marketing) major from
Portland, Texas, won a national championship on the three-meter
board at the 2010 NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving
Championships. Last March, Emerick finished as runner-up on both
the one-meter and three-meter boards at the 2011 NCAA
Championships, making her Trinity’s first four-time
all-American in the sport of diving.
Emerick, who helped Trinity’s swimming and diving team to a
conference championship each of her four years in San Antonio, was
a seven-time SCAC champion in the one-meter and three-meter events,
and was named SCAC Women’s Diver-of-the-Year every year.
This past April, Emerick, a three-time NCAA academic all-America
selection, became the 32nd Trinity University student-athlete to
earn a NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.
"Hayley has represented Trinity University graciously and with
distinction for all four years of her collegiate athletic
career,” said Trinity Head Swimming Coach John Ryan.
“She's been a terrific scholar, she's contributed to our
community personally, and she's been a tremendous competitor in her
chosen varsity sport. Hayley Emerick is in every way a truly
exceptional student- athlete.”
A two-year diving team captain, Emerick was responsible for
organizing of team training trips, team get-togethers and other
team communication. Away from the pool, she helped found a new
business fraternity on campus, Delta Sigma Pi, and was also a
member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars as well as
Alpha Lambda Delta, an honor society.
Emerick has volunteered with many service organizations while a
student at Trinity. In the local San Antonio community, she worked
with Habitat for Humanity, the YMCA, and the Food Bank of San
Antonio where she assisted with a community garden. Emerick’s
volunteer efforts also extended overseas as she worked with Cross
Cultural Solutions Volunteer Abroad in 2010. While there, she
helped with marketing development for a small business in Costa
Rica and also volunteered at a local orphanage and taught English
at the local university.
Emerick was one of seven outstanding nominees considered by the
SCAC Woman of the Year Committee. In addition to Emerick, the 2011
Woman of the Year candidates were:
- Allison Conn, softball, Rhodes College
- Kaitlin Elledge, soccer, Austin College
- Erin Fowler, track and field, Oglethorpe University
- Kasey Jackson, track and field, Centre College
- Courtney Lauer, basketball; track and field, DePauw University
- Heather Newell, field hockey, Hendrix College
As the SCAC winner, Emerick will also be nominated for the NCAA
Woman of the Year award, one of the most prestigious honors the
NCAA bestows. The award recognizes senior student-athletes who have
distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the
areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and
leadership. Each NCAA conference, and independent institutions, can
nominate an distinguished female student-athlete for the NCAA Woman
of the Year Award. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will
select the top 10 winners in each division in August. From those 30
honorees, the selection committee will determine the top three in
each division (September). Finally, the members of the CWAÂ
will vote from among the top nine finalists to determine the Woman
of the Year.
The top 10 honorees and the nine finalists from Divisions I, II and
III will be honored and the 2011 NCAÂ Woman of the Year
winner will be announced at a dinner in Indianapolis, on October
16, 2011.
From 1991 to 2005, each state had a woman of the year honoree and
from that group 10 finalists were selected. From the top-10
finalists, the national winner was then chosen. Since 2006, each
conference and independent school forwards nominations to the
NCAA.
To read about past winners of the SCAC Woman-of-the-Year award,
click here.
