Hayward Selected as HCAC Swim/Dive Athlete of the Year

Anderson University men's swimming and diving senior Matthew Hayward was selected as the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Swim/Dive Athlete of the Year, which was announced by the conference on Friday.

The award was voted upon by the conference coaches based on his performance throughout the entire season.

"What an outstanding honor for Matthew Hayward and the team as a whole," Coach Emma Furnish said. "This is a first-time achievement for AU! To be selected as the top athlete from all of the swimmers and divers in our conference is definitely something to be proud of! I am thankful the conference saw Matthew's success this year and is able to reward him for it!"

In this year's national meet, Hayward secured 15th in in the 1-meter diving finals with an 11-dive score of 402.85 points. During the 1-meter diving prelims, the senior from Fort Wayne earned 14th with an 11-dive score of 435.15 points. Hayward also took 23rd in the 3-meter diving event in the national meet with an 11-dive score of 401.20 points.

During his career, Hayward qualified for the NCAA D-III Diving Regionals four times. His second-place finish in this year's diving regionals propelled Hayward to qualify for the national meet, becoming the program's first-ever national qualifier. In this year's regional competition, Hayward locked up second in the 1-meter diving event (446.30) and seventh in the 3-meter diving event (414.60).

As a freshman, Hayward missed the 1-meter diving prelims of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Championships due to injury. Despite officially finishing seventh place, Hayward recorded the second-highest score of the meet. Hayward took second in the 1-meter diving event in the conference meet as a sophomore. He then followed up by claimed second in the conference meet for both the 1-meter diving and 3-meter diving events. During his senior year, Hayward swept the conference titles for both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events. With the sweep, Hayward was selected as the HCAC Diver of the Year. Throughout his career, Hayward has been named HCAC Diver of the Week 20 times, including 11 this season.

Hayward closes his career as the school-record holder in both the 11-dive 1-meter diving event (520.65) and the 11-dive 3-meter diving event (508.80).