ROCK HILL, S.C. --- Tusculum University's Tia Daniel has been named the 2023 South Atlantic Conference Women's Lacrosse Scholar Athlete of the Year announced league officials on Thursday. She becomes the first player in the nine-year history of TU women's lacrosse to earn this recognition.
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.
Daniel graduated from Tusculum last month with magna cum laude honors. She finished her undergraduate studies with a 3.94 cumulative grade point average while majoring in criminal justice. The Langley, British Columbia product is a member of the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll, President's List, Charles Oliver Gray Honors List, Dean's List and the Tusculum Athletic Director's Honor Roll.
On the field, the two-time All-SAC honoree established a new program single-season record this year with her 86 points as she accounted for 58 goals and 28 assists in her 16 contests. She scored at least one goal in every game this year including three 7-goal performances. She also had four games where she posted nine points and was named the team's most valuable player.
Daniel's 86 points were tied for the conference lead in the regular season while her 3.62 goals per game were second-best in the SAC. Daniel also ranked fourth in the conference with a team-high 79 draw controls.
For her career, Daniel ranked second in program history in goals (149), assists (51) and points (200), along with free-position goals (37) and shots on goal (248). Daniel is third in career draw controls with 159 and tied for third in career game-winning goals with five. She recorded at least one point in 44 of her 45 career games, including 40 consecutive to end her career.
She was named to the 2023 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Women's At-Large Team. She is also a two-time recipient of the Division II Athletic Directors Association Academic Achievement Award and was selected to the IWLCA Academic Honor Squad in 2022.
The Pioneers went 7-9 this spring including 4-6 in conference play, both three-win improvements from a season ago. Tusculum closed out the season strong winning four of its final six contests.
