ST. LOUIS – Illinois State seniors Ashley Rosch and Jacob Hendren have been selected as the female and male recipients of the Missouri Valley Conference's Dr. Charlotte West Scholar-Athlete Award, MVC Commissioner Doug Elgin announced Wednesday.
Rosch and Hendren were selected by the league's Faculty Athletic Representatives Committee, which considered a strong field of candidates that met the award criterion, which include academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership.
Rosch and Hendren are the first winners of the award selected from the same school in a given academic year in the 16-year history of the award. Previous Illinois State winners include: Anna Stinson (2014), Scott Krapf (2011), Stacey Miller (2010), Christian Goy (2003) and Stacia Beste (2002).
Rosch, a native of Fox River Grove, Illinois, finished her collegiate career as the first four-time All-MVC First-Team selection in program history, and just the fifth overall in league history. She was twice named the Valley's Offensive Player of the Week in 2015. She set new career highs in points (31.5 versus Rutgers on Sept. 5) and kills (27 against Jacksonville on Sept. 19), while also climbing Illinois State's career record lists. Rosch finished her career holding Illinois State's career record for attempts (4,914), while ranking third in kills (1,609), fourth in points (1,821.0) and seventh in digs (1,272).
Rosch was named to the MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team for the third year in a row in 2015 and was a nominee for the Senior CLASS Award. A three-time recipient of the MVC Commissioner's Academic Excellence Award, Rosch has been named to the AFNI and MVC academic honor rolls every possible year and semester. She was named the MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week on Sept. 9. Also active in community service and campus activities, Rosch served as Illinois State's Student-Athlete Advisory Council representative to the MVC in 2014-15.
In the classroom, Rosch owns a 3.85 cumulative grade-point average (GPA) as an environmental health major.
Hendren, a native of Le Roy, Illinois, recently finished his collegiate career as a senior member of the Redbird Baseball team. The left-hander was an All-MVC First-Team selection and the MVC Newcomer of the Year in 2015, and later earned Louisville Slugger Third-Team All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball. He broke Illinois State single-season records for innings pitched (106) and wins (10), going 10-2 with a 2.80 ERA and 99 strikeouts a year ago. In 2016, Hendren tallied 60 strikeouts in 82.2 innings, totals that both ranked as the second-best marks on the staff.
Hendren was a Capital One Academic All-America selection in 2015 and has been an MVC Scholar-Athlete First-Team pick each of the past two seasons. He has earned AFNI and MVC academic honor roll recognition every possible year and semester, and was a recipient of the MVC Commissioner's Academic Excellence Award last spring. He was twice named the MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week in 2016. Also a nominee for the Senior CLASS Award, Hendren was a member of Illinois State's Leadership Academy this past academic year.
In the classroom, Hendren owns a 3.92 cumulative GPA as a mathematics/pre-medicine major.
The first-ever recipient of the Honda Award of Merit in 1996 for outstanding achievement in women's collegiate athletics, Dr. Charlotte West was a driving force for more than 40 years in the area of advancement of women's sports. On June 30, 1998, she retired from Southern Illinois, after serving in the capacities of head coach, associate athletics director, interim athletics director and senior woman administrator during her 41 years with the Missouri Valley Conference-member institution.
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