NEWS | Complete SAC release
 
Rock Hill, S.C.----Wingate University senior Marta Beesmans Barquero ('25, Madrid, Spain) is the 2025 South Atlantic Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year award winner for women's swimming. The SAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year award is presented annually to one student-athlete in each of the league's championship sports and is voted on by the Faculty Athletics Representatives (FAR) committee.
 
The winners are selected based on their achievements in academics, athletics, service and leadership. Beesmans Barquero has five individual SAC championships, three in the 200 Backstroke and two in the 100 Backstroke. She holds a 3.544 GPA with her marketing major.
 
The Marta Beesmans Barquero ('25) file
Senior team captain and backstroke specialist

- Member, SAC championship team in 2023, 2024 and 2025
- Concluded career with first team AA swim in 400 Medley Relay at '25 NCAAs
- First team All-American in 200 backstroke in 2023 and 2024
- Three-time NCAA national championship qualifier
- SAC champion in 200 backstroke three times in three tries
- SAC champion in 100 backstroke two times in three tries
- Wingate University Dean's List (four semesters)
- Wingate University President's List (one semester)
- CSCAA Scholar All-American (two seasons)
- Marketing Team, WU Business School (2022-present)
- Lifeguard and swimming lessons instructor, WU Aquatics (2022-present)
- Summer camp instructor (two summers)
 
What They Are Saying
Wingate head women's swimming coach Kevin Hennessy
 
"We couldn't be prouder of Marta for this recognition. It's easy to get lost in all the swimming, because that's what we do, but to see the recognition for not only the hard work in the pool combined with the hard work in the classroom as well. This helps to highlight all the things where student-athletes require focus. There's a lot more to what they do day-to-day and it's not only about sports. This really shows Marta's significant leadership both in the pool and the classroom." 
 
Wingate University
 
Wingate University is a lab of difference-making that serves more than 3,400 students in North Carolina and offers 60 degree pathways, including 37 undergraduate majors, 10 pre-professional tracks and five dual-degree programs. Graduate students choose from seven master's and five doctoral programs. The University is home to the Cannon College of Arts and Sciences, the Levine College of Health Sciences, the Byrum School of Business, the Thayer School of Education and the School of Sport Sciences.
 
Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a leader in healthcare education where nearly one in five undergraduate students is preparing to be a pharmacist, physician assistant, physical therapist, occupational therapist or nurse. Student-athletes on Wingate's 29 teams compete in NCAA Division II and have brought home the SAC Echols Athletic Excellence Award the past 16 times it has been awarded. The University's motto is "Faith, Knowledge, Service." View current news and videos at www.wingate.edu.
 
OneDog, #OneDog, and One Day One Dog are registered trademarks of Wingate University.