ROCK HILL, SC— Winthrop rising senior women's tennis standout Lauren Proctor has been voted the 2017-18 Big South Conference Female Student-Athlete of the Year, announced by the league office Thursday afternoon. Proctor becomes the first ever tennis player ever to win the conference's Female Student-Athlete of the Year award.

Proctor turned in arguably the greatest individual season by a Winthrop tennis player while helping lead the women's tennis team to a Big South Conference Championship. It was the third straight championship for the Eagles as they went on to the NCAA Tournament and captured the conference's first ever first round victory by defeating 20^th-ranked Auburn 4-3.

For the third straight year, Proctor was named the Big South Women's Tennis Player of the Year as she was 21-2 in the spring at No. 1 singles. She was a perfect 7-0 in league action and at one point won 13 straight matches. It's also the third straight season Proctor has earned all-conference honors in doubles.

Proctor teamed up with Megan Kauffman in doubles for the second straight season and the duo turned in an impressive year, going 22-0 at No. 1 doubles before falling in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships, earning both of them All-America honors. The pair reached the quarterfinals after wins over opponents from Georgia and Wake Forest and finished the season ranked 16^th nationally. Proctor also qualified for the NCAA Championship in singles as she entered the championship ranked 36^th but dropped a hard fought three-set match in the opening round. She finished the season ranked 41^st in singles and reached as high as 14^th during the year.

In the fall, Proctor won the ITA Regional Championship in October, becoming the first Eagle in program history to do so. She also won the ITA National Summer Championships and ranked 55^th entering the season.

In three seasons at Winthrop Proctor has posted a singles record of 66-9 with a perfect 24-0 mark in conference play. The last two seasons Proctor and Kauffman are 40-7 as doubles partners.

This is the second straight year the Eagles took home Big South Female Student-Athlete of the Year honors as Marthaline Cooper earned the honor in 2016-17 after turning in her 4^th All-America performance. Dequesha McClanahan became the first Winthrop female athlete to receive the honor in 2013-14.