ROCK HILL, S.C. – Rising senior Gabriel Dias of the men's tennis team has been selected as a national member of the Division I NCAA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), serving as the representative for the Big South Conference.
 
Dias was recently elected by his peers to serve as president of Winthrop's SAAC chapter for the 2019-20 school year. Dias has been involved with SAAC since his freshman year, previously serving as a community engagement representative and as vice president. Dias led implementation of student-athlete study hall located on campus, helped create a student-athlete town hall meeting series and is now leading SAAC's focus on implementation of a freshman orientation and mentoring program.
 
"I'm extremely excited for this position and I'm looking forward to representing Winthrop and the Big South Conference on the national level to the best of my abilities," said Dias. "Being a NCAA Division I SAAC member is a tremendous honor for me and I am excited to work with other student-athletes from many different areas of the country…I'm thankful that I have such an amazing team that supports and encourages me to do it. Coach John [Collins] was the first person to support me on being a SAAC member and he encouraged me to pursue the national position."
 
The mission of the National Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is to enhance the total student-athlete experience by promoting opportunity, protecting student-athlete welfare and fostering a positive student-athlete image. At Winthrop, SAAC has been instrumental in providing a voice for improvements to the student-athlete experience.
 
Dias also represented the Eagles on the Big South All-Academic team in 2019 as a business administration major (double concentration in international business and economics) with a 3.73 GPA. The Brazil native also serves as an international ambassador on campus. On the court in his junior season in 2019, Dias posted a 10-9 overall singles record, 5-3 in conference, making the move up to No. 2/3 after playing No. 5 last year.