ROCK HILL, S.C. --- For a second straight season, Tusculum University's Annie McCullough has been named the South Atlantic Conference Women's Tennis Scholar Athlete of the Year announced league officials Monday.
The SAC Scholar Athlete of the Year award is presented annually to one student-athlete in each of the conference's championship sports and is selected by the league's faculty athletic representatives committee. Winners are selected based on their achievements in academics and athletics.
This marks the fifth time in six years and ninth time overall that a Tusculum women's tennis player has earned SAC Scholar Athlete of the Year honors. McCullough joins Tusculum and SAC Hall of Famer Lesley Murray (2003 & 2004) as the only two-time selections in program history.
The senior from Belfast, Northern Ireland has a 3.99 cumulative grade point average while majoring in chemistry. She is a member of the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll, Tusculum Athletic Director's Honor Roll, Dean's List, President's List, Charles Oliver Gray Honors List and is an ITA Scholar Athlete.
"Annie continues to be the epitome of a Tusculum Pioneer," said TU head coach Adam Jackson. "She is as dedicated to her academic pursuits as she is to her success on the tennis court, and she is very talented in both fields. We are lucky to have her represent our program."
The 2019 SAC Women's Tennis Player of the Year, McCullough is a three-time All-Conference selection in singles and a two-time first team in doubles with her sister Caitlin. Along with her sibling, McCullough has been a part of a nationally ranked doubles team for the past three seasons and becomes the first-ever ITA All-American in Tusculum history. She earned All-American honors and was among 23 player recognized in singles and was one part of the 16 Division II doubles teams to be recognized by the ITA.
In singles, Annie went 10-3 during the fall to boost her career singles record (dual matches and tournaments) to 91-15. McCullough was 3-3 against nationally-ranked opponents during the fall, including wins over fellow All-Americans Kierstin Hensley of West Virginia State and Anna Savchenko of Azusa Pacific at the ITA Cup, with all three of her losses coming to All-American players. McCullough was ranked seventh in Division II in singles at the conclusion of the fall portion of the 2019-20 season.
Last season, she was earned Academic All-America® second team distinction as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). She is also a two-time Tusculum University Female Athlete of the Year honoree (2017-18 & 2018-19).
Tusculum, which was ranked as high as 17th in the ITA Division II Women's National Team Rankings during the season, ended the abbreviated 2019-20 campaign with a 6-3 overall record and a 2-1 record in conference competition. The Pioneers were among 12 teams that received votes outside the top-25 in the final ITA rankings of the season.
