Rock Hill, S.C.----Wingate University football student-athlete Robbie Nallenweg (Asheville, N.C.) and Tusculum College volleyball student-athlete Ashley Sarmiento (Dayton, Ohio) are the 2013-14 winners of the SAC Presidents' Award, the highest individual honor presented annually by the South Atlantic Conference.
 
The SAC Presidents' Award is voted on by the league's Faculty Athletic Representatives. Eligible student-athletes must exemplify excellence in athletics, academics and community service. Further, to be nominated for this prestigious award, the individual must have been honored as the Scholar-Athlete of the Year during the year in one of the league's 18 sponsored sports.
 
"Ashley and Robbie are two perfect examples why college athletics is great," SAC commissioner Patrick Britz says. "Their excellence in all facets of athletics, academics and community service is outstanding. Both are very deserving of this prestigious award. The SAC has been very fortunate to have these extraordinary individuals be such wonderful representatives the past four years."
 
Nallenweg was named the 2013 SAC Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive year, while Sarmiento was named the 2013 SAC Volleyball Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the second year in a row as well. Sarmiento becomes the ninth individual to be honored as the SAC Presidents' Award winner in multiple seasons and the first female since Wingate's Anna Atkinson Caparaso (Marion, N.C.) in 2007-08 and 2008-09.
 
Nallenweg earned his bachelor's degree in biology in May, graduating magna cum laude with a 3.81 GPA. In addition to being named the SAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year for 2013, he was named to the National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society. A two-time Capital One Academic All-Super Region 2 team selection, Nallenweg was also named to the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll for the fourth consecutive year.
 
"Robbie Nallenweg is the total package," Wingate head football coach Joe Reich says. "Obviously, he is a great football player with an excellent GPA as a biology/pre-med major. There is so much more to him than this…he is an outstanding leader as well."
 
In the community, Nallenweg was involved with the Wingate Special Olympics Field Day and served as a Wingate Elementary School lunch buddy this year. As a junior, Nallenweg was a nominee for the 2012 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® for his role in Wingate's initiative with the Union County Boys and Girls Club.
 
"Robbie played a vital role in organizing our first spring game fund raiser with the Union County Boys and Girls Club," Reich says.  "His influence on our team has been enormous. When Robbie decides to do something, he is all in…this is how he operates. I am very excited the SAC Faculty Athletic Representatives decided to honor him in this fashion."
 
Nallenweg was one of 28 candidates in the running for the 2013 Harlon Hill Trophy as the NCAA Division II college football Player of the Year. Nallenweg was a second team All-SAC performer as a senior. Nallenweg led the SAC in completions per game (28.1) and completion percentage (70.3). He was fourth in the NCAA Division II statistical rankings in both of the aforementioned categories.
 
His statistics line this season included 281-of-400 passes for 3013 yards and 24 touchdowns. Nallenweg completed 24-of-28 passes for 273 yards and four TDs against Brevard, passing the career 5000-yard mark in the process.
 
Nallenweg posted 334 yards and three scoring strikes at Tusculum. The two-year team captain recorded a season-high 460 passing yards at Mars Hill. In his final collegiate game, Nallenweg completed 32-of-48 passes for 434 yards and four scores against number 21 Carson-Newman. His pass efficiency rating this season was 147.32.
 
In 2012, Nallenweg set school records for passing yards per game (331.3), completions in a game (43), completions in a season (326), attempts in a season (491) and completion percentage for a season (66 percent). His yards in a season (3644) and touchdowns in a season (29) are both second-most in a season at Wingate.
 
WINGATE UNIVERSITY
 
Wingate University, ranked as the 8th "best value" in the South by U.S. News & World Report, serves more than 3,000 students on three campuses in Wingate, Charlotte and Hendersonville, N.C. Founded in 1896, the University offers 35 undergraduate majors, 37 minors and career concentrations, numerous pre-professional programs, graduate degrees in business, accounting, education, physician assistant studies and sport administration, and doctorates in pharmacy, physical therapy and education.
 
With a 14 to 1 student/teacher ratio, Wingate students gain the tools and support needed to excel in academics and apply that learning toward an extraordinary career and life. To view current news, video and story ideas, visit www.youtube.com/wingateuniversity. 
 
In addition to a robust intramural athletics program, Wingate student athletes compete in 22 NCAA Division II sports. The University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past eight years. For more information, go to www.wingate.edu.
 
Wingate is first among NCAA Division II Academic All-America®-producing colleges in the 2000's with 67 selections. Among North Carolina's colleges and universities, Wingate's 67 Academic All-America® honorees are number one during this millennium. Wingate's 76 lifetime Academic All-America® picks are tops among all SAC schools. For more information on WU athletics, go to www.wingatebulldogs.com.