ROCKINGHAM — Kaylee Parker, a junior on the Richmond Senior High School girls’ tennis team, has been named the Week 6 Official Richmond County Female Athlete of the Week presented by Moss Brothers Tires and Service.
Each week, one male and one female student-athlete from Richmond Senior High School will be selected by his or her coach as ROSports’ Official Richmond County Athlete of the Week based on his or her performance in helping their respective team.
In her first season with the Lady Raiders, Parker is one of nine members on the team who are new to the sport. Richmond continued to improve and find success on the court over the last week, winning all three of its matches against Sandhills Athletic Conference opponents. During that stretch, Parker won all three of her singles matches, while picking up two more wins in doubles play. This is her first career recognition.
Athletic Profile
Age: 16
Birthday: May 19. 2003
Year: Junior
Fall Sport: Tennis
Position: No. 3 Seed
Years on Varsity: 1 Year
Height & Weight: 5-4, 108 pounds
Experience: 1 Year
“SERVING ACES” WITH KAYLEE PARKER
RSHS Academics: Parker is in her first semester of her junior year, and is a part of the dual-enrollment program with the high school and Richmond Community College. At RichmondCC, she’s taking History 131, Math 171, Psychology and Spanish 111. On RSHS’ campus, Parker is enrolled in AP Language and Composition with Ms. Samantha Whitehead and Health Science I with Ms. Elizabeth McDougald.
A member of the Advanced Placement and RichmondCC clusters, Parker currently holds a 4.5 GPA and is an “A” honor roll student. She’s also involved with the National Beta Club.
“Health Science is my favorite class this semester because I’m going to be in the health field when I’m older, so it will be helpful to me,” she explained. “Right now we’re learning about the heart, but my favorite part is learning about how all the body systems work and function.”
Future Plans: High school graduation is still over a year and a half away, but Parker has already made her mind up on what she wants to do while still in school and while in college.
“I want to complete the CNA program at RCC my senior year,” she explained. “My goal is to graduate with an associate’s degree in science and maintain good grades while I’m in high school.
“When I go to college, I want to study to become a physical therapist,” she added. “I think it’s cool to watch people grow after they have a traumatic event and I want to be a part of that healing process. I want to go to East Carolina University because it’s a good school for physical therapy.”
Athlete of the Week Stats: Richmond competed against Hoke County High School once last week before playing a two-match series against Lumberton High School to close the week. Going 3-0 for the first time this season, Parker’s racket in the No. 3 singles match was a big help.
Against the Lady Bucks, Parker downed Molly Barth 8-4 for her first singles match win of the season. She followed up with an 8-2 win over Lumberton’s Elizabeth McDonald a day later, and capped the week with an 8-1 win, her largest margin of victory, against Lumberton’s Paige Leggett.
In the first of her two doubles wins, Parker teamed up with her cousin, sophomore Ellie Buck, to earn a No. 1 doubles victory over Lumberton’s Brittney Collins and Leggett. Her other victory saw her and and Buck beat McDonald and Gracie Britt 8-4 in the No. 2 doubles contest.
Raider Video Chats: Kaylee Parker, Official Richmond County Female Athlete of the Week
New this season is our “Raider Video Chats” segment that allows student-athletes to connect with fans and readers through video interviews. In her video, Parker talks about her three-win week, how her junior year is going and answers questions in our “Rapid Raider Response” segment.
Click photo for video.
