Tennis Standout Named Big South Female Student-Athlete of the Year

ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA - Winthrop University junior tennis player Lauren Proctor was voted this month as the Big South Conference Female Student-Athlete of the Year for the 2017-18 season.

Voting was conducted by the league's athletics directors, administrators and sports information directors.

Proctor is the first tennis player to win the conference's Female Student-Athlete of the Year award, as well as the second consecutive Winthrop student-athlete to receive the honor. The Bradenton, Florida, resident also is the third Winthrop female athlete to win the honor in the past five years. Track & Field standout Marthaline Cooper took the honor in 2016-17 and former basketball star Dequesha McClanahan held the honor in 2013-14.

Proctor earned All-America honors after advancing to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Doubles Championships with wins over Georgia and Wake Forest. She became just the third three-time Big South Women's Tennis Player of the Year honoree in 2017-18, as she posted a 21-2 mark at No. 1 singles in the spring and earned an at-large berth into the NCAA Singles Championships.

Proctor also won the ITA Regional Championship in October -- the first in program history -- and was nationally-ranked as high as No. 14 during the year.

She completed a perfect 7-0 run in Big South matches, and led the Eagles to the Big South's first NCAA Tournament victory with a 4-3 win over No. 20 Auburn. Proctor teamed with Megan Kauffman at No. 1 doubles in the spring season and the duo finished ranked No. 16 in the nation, as well as 24-1 overall and 4-1 against nationally-ranked opponents. Proctor also earned First-Team All-Conference honors in Singles and Doubles this past season -- the third time in her career with this distinction.

For more information, contact Brittany Lane, Winthrop assistant athletic director for marketing and communications, at laneb@winthrop.edu.