GRANGER TWP. — Highland’s Danielle Hadler will be going to college for free.

Hadler, who will play tennis at Division II Kentucky Wesleyan College, won a scholarship competition at the Owensboro, Ky., school and will receive a full ride academically.

Danielle Hadler

Just in case her grades drop, “which I don’t expect to happen,” Hadler said, the owner of a 4.324 grade-point average — she was ranked ninth out of 261 students in her class at Highland — will have a backup athletic scholarship. That scholarship, which Hadler doesn’t expect to use, would defray about $5,000 of the approximate $23,000 annual tuition.

Hadler, a two-time All-Gazette pick, visited the western Kentucky school, which is about three hours from Cincinnati, on three occasions and chose it over D-III Otterbein.

On one of those trips, she participated in a scholarship competition that required her to write essays and go through an interview process, which she won.

“It’s such a relief,” the 17-year-old said. “It’s one less thing to worry about. The campus is beautiful and it feels like home.”

Hadler, who got a 27 on her ACT, will major in chemistry with the goal of going into pre-med and one day becoming a pediatric physician.

Having compiled a 13-6 record as a senior and 19-8 mark as a junior while manning the first singles spot for Highland, Hadler also figures to play immediately for the Panthers, who compete in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

“The tennis coach (Eric Larue) is absolutely amazing,” said Hadler, who will likely play somewhere in the middle of the team’s singles lineup. “He’s a great coach. He realizes school comes first, which is a big priority for me. He’s basically like a parent at the college, which is important for me because mine will be seven hours away.”

Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-406 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com.

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