ROCK HILL, S.C. --- Tusculum University women's tennis student-athlete Annie McCullough has been named the 2019-2020 recipient of the South Atlantic Conference International Woman of the Year Award announced league officials Tuesday.
The SAC International Woman of the Year is selected by a vote of the league's senior woman administrators and McCullough will move onto the national ballot for the NCAA Woman of the Year award. Of the over 605 nominations submitted nationally for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award, she is one of 161 advancing including one of only 39 finalists from NCAA Division II.
This marks the second straight year that a Tusculum student-athlete has garnered this accolade following distance runner Nicole McMillen who was tabbed the SAC International Woman of the Year last season.
McCullough graduated from Tusculum this past spring with a 3.99 cumulative grade point average and earned her bachelor's degree in chemistry. She was named the SAC Women's Tennis Scholar Athlete of the Year for a second straight season and also returned to the CoSIDA Academic All-America® team once again, earning first team honors.
The Belfast, Northern Ireland native is a member of the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll, Tusculum Athletic Director's Honor Roll, Dean's List, President's List and Charles Oliver Gray Honors List. She has garnered ITA Scholar Athlete every season she has been at Tusculum.
Annie, along with her twin sister Caitlin, became the first student-athletes in TU women's tennis history to earn NCAA Division II All-America distinction by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). The duo was one of 16 teams honored in doubles, while Annie was among 23 student-athletes recognized in singles play.
The McCulloughs finished as the Division II runner-up in doubles at the ITA Cup in Rome, Georgia and ended the fall with a 10-3 overall record. They concluded the fall season ranked second in the Oracle/ITA Division II Women's Tennis National rankings, and had a 4-2 record against ranked opponents during the fall. The McCulloughs did not appear in any matches during the spring due to injuries, and have a 54-12 record in three seasons together at Tusculum thus far.
In singles, McCullough went 10-3 during the fall to boost her career singles record (dual matches and tournaments) to 91-15. She was ranked seventh in Division II in singles at the conclusion of the fall portion of the season.