Rock Hill, S.C.----Wingate University senior Florian Walcher has been named the 2025 South Atlantic Conference men's tennis Scholar-Athlete, league officials announced Wednesday afternoon. Walcher earns SAC Scholar-Athlete accolades for the first time in his career.

The South Atlantic Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year award is presented annually to one student-athlete in each of the conference's championship sports and is voted on by the SAC's Faculty Athletic Representatives Committee. The winners are selected based on their achievements in academics, athletics, service and leadership.

Walcher gives the Wingate men's tennis program eight SAC Scholar-Athlete awards all-time. The Bulldogs have now won four of the last four of the last seven trophies, with Roy Stepanov earning the honor in 2021 after Daniel Belsito went back-to-back in 2019 and 2020. Marius Dan won three straight from 2002 through 2004, with Braeden Patchell earning the accolade in 2011. Walcher gives Wingate 115 SAC Scholar-Athletes all-time, the most in league history.

Walcher is a four-time All-SAC honoree, collecting first team accolades three times. He has also earned All-SAC doubles honors twice in his career, earning second team accolades as a sophomore. Walcher was named the SAC Freshman of the Year and ITA Southeast Region Rookie of the Year in 2022.

Walcher piled up 14 wins as a freshman, while going 17-2 during his sophomore season and 18-2 as a junior. He capped his career by going 9-3 during his senior season in singles play to go 76-19 overall while also posting a 71-24 career doubles record. He helped lead the Bulldogs to a pair of regular season SAC titles and two SAC Tournament championships. Wingate went 69-21 during his four-year career, with a 44-4 record in league play.

Walcher has a 3.922 GPA at Wingate, majoring in Exercise Science and Psychology. A member of the university Honors program, Walcher has made the WU President's List five times, while also earning Dean's List honors. A member of the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll every year of his career, Wacher is a two-time ITA Scholar All-American.

Walcher has also gotten it done around Wingate and the community. He has served as a peer tutor at Wingate, while also serving as a tennis coach in Austria since the summer of 2021, coaching kids and adults while also running kids' camps. He has volunteered through Hilfswerk company, working with children and senior citizens. Walcher has served with United Way Day of Caring and OneDay OneDog, volunteering at Wingate Baptist Church. He has also volunteered at Sports Therapy Center in Austria and Bank of America for Panthers games and Charlotte FC contests. A member of the Wingate Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Walcher served on a WU Board of Trustees Panel discussion.

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 17 times it has been awarded. The University's motto is "Faith, Knowledge, Service." View current news and videos at www.wingate.edu.