Annie McCullough repeats as Academic All-American

Annie McCullough repeats as Academic All-American

AUSTIN, Texas --- Tusculum University student-athlete Annie McCullough has been named to the 2020 NCAA Division II Academic All-America® Women's At-Large first team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

McCullough returns to the Academic All-America® team for a second straight year after earning second team distinction last year. She becomes the second player in program history to garner Academic All-America® honors multiple times joining three-time winner Franziska Funke (2016, 2017, 2018).  This also marks the fifth straight season that a TU women's tennis player has garnered Academic All-America® laurels and sixth time overall.

The Academic All-America® At-Large program includes the sports of fencing, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, swimming and diving, tennis, water polo for both men and women; bowling, crew, beach volleyball and field hockey for women; and volleyball and wrestling for men.

McCullough graduated from Tusculum with a 3.99 cumulative grade point average and earned her bachelor's degree in chemistry.  Last month, she was named the South Atlantic Conference Women's Tennis Scholar Athlete of the Year for a second straight season.

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 three times.

Last month, 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.

Annie and Caitlin were also both named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District 3 Women's At-Large first team last month, becoming the first siblings in TU women's tennis history to garner this accolade in the same year.

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 3-3 against nationally-ranked opponents during the fall, including wins over 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. She was ranked seventh in Division II in singles at the conclusion of the fall portion of the season.

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.

The Division II and III CoSIDA Academic All-America® programs are partially financially supported by the NCAA Division II and III national governance structures to assist CoSIDA with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2019-20 Divisions II and III Academic All-America® programs. The NAIA CoSIDA Academic All-America® program is partially financially supported through the NAIA national office.

 

2020 CoSIDA Academic All-America Division II Women's At-Large Team

Sport

Name

School

First Team

 

 

Lacrosse

Allison Conn

Queens (N.C.)

Lacrosse

Julia Couch

Florida Southern

Swimming

Becca Cubbler

Bloomsburg

Ice Hockey

Kendall Fitzgerald

Post

Field Hockey

Mackenzie Fuhrman

Kutztown

Golf

Jaime Jacob

Cal State San Marcos

Lacrosse

Alison Johnson

Adelphi

Tennis

Kendra Kappes

Winona State

Skiing

Amanda Kautzer

Michigan Tech

Tennis

Annie McCullough

Tusculum

Gymnastics

Jessica Meakim

West Chester

Tennis

Karla Miletic

University of the Sciences

Swimming

Mary Northcutt

Carson-Newman

Crew

Bailee Thomas

Central Oklahoma

Swimming

Mia Wood

Colorado School of Mines

 

 

 

Second Team

 

 

Lacrosse

Hannah Baird

Coker

Swimming

Taylor Beagle

Augustana

Lacrosse

Kenzie Blackwell

Colorado Mesa

Beach Volleyball

Ally Bottenfield

Palm Beach Atlantic

Swimming

Erica Dahlgren

Drury

Golf

Pilar Echeverria

Indianapolis

Beach Volleyball

Payton Gidney

Spring Hill

Golf

Jennifer Hankins

Metro State

Lacrosse

Maddie Hentges

Concordia-St. Paul

Golf

Lizzie Karston

Charleston (W.Va.)

Tennis

Kristen Kirby

Colorado Mesa

Swimming

Maggie Knier

Minnesota State-Mankato

Golf

Helen Kreuzer

Lynn

Golf

Elizabeth Leath

Central Missouri

Swimming

Ester Rizzetto

West Florida

 

 

 

Third Team

 

 

Water Polo

Auriel Bill

Cal State East Bay

Tennis

Berta Bonardi

West Florida

Swimming

Hanna Cederholm

Findlay

Swimming

Brittany Dixon

Colorado Mesa

Lacrosse

Carly Fedorowski

Lindenwood

Golf

Joefina Foa Torres

Barry

Golf

Sofia Garcia Austt

Nova Southeastern

Golf

Hannah Hankinson

Augustana

Swimming

Mikayla Karasek

Grand Valley State

Swimming

Rachel Massaro

Queens (N.C.)

Swimming

Paige Mikesell

Indiana (Pa.)

Tennis

Joanna Nowakowska

Southern Arkansas

Golf

Ainee O'Connor

Lenoir-Rhyne

Golf

Noemie Pare

Barry

Swimming

Colleen Quaglia

Saint Rose

Crew

Svetlana Ristin

Florida Tech

Field Hockey

Brittany Ryan

Mansfield

Swimming

Gracee Tothero

Shippensburg

Golf

Hannah Walker

Young Harris

Tennis

Kiersten Waugh

Lincoln Memorial

 

Academic All-American of the Year: Amanda Kautzer, Michigan Tech