The South Atlantic Conference Announces 2022-23 Women and Man of the Year Award Winners

ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – The South Atlantic Conference announced its 2022-23 Women and Man of the Year Awards on Friday, August 18. Coker's Madison McAfee was named the SAC Woman of the Year, while Lenoir-Rhyne's Lisa Boernigen was named the SAC Minority/ International Woman of the Year. In addition, Wingate's Ethan Hathcock was named the SAC Man of the Year.

McAfee, a member of Coker's acrobatics and tumbling team, graduated summa cum laude with a 4.00 grade point average in business administration with a concentration in marketing. McAfee was honored as the 2023 Coker University Top Graduate, the 2023 C.G. Timberlake Coker University Student-Athlete of the Year, the 2023 Conference Carolinas Elite 23 recipient, and a 2023 NCATA All-Academic Team Honoree. She was a four-year Coker University Presidents List honoree and received the D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award and a spot on the NCATA Academic Honor Roll from 2021-2023. In 2022, McAfee was selected as a Coker University Junior Marshal and earned Conference Carolinas Academic All-Conference.

The Chapin, S.C. native was a National Qualifier in 2023 for the At Large Open Pyramid and Inversion Pyramid and in 2022 for the At Large Open Pyramid. During the 2023 season, McAfee helped the Coker Acrobatics and Tumbling team earn a program-high score of 265.950 and was named the 2023 NCATA Specialist of the Week for week 10 and NCATA Specialist of the Week Honorable Mention for week six. She was selected as the Coker University Student-Athlete of the Month during April and the Coker University Student-Athlete of the week during the 2023 season. In 2022, McAfee was honored as the Coker University Female Breakout Athlete of the Year.

McAfee was very active in her community, as she volunteered with the Campus Trash Clean Up, Treats on the Street, and the We Care Stocking Drive. She coached gymnastics at the Excel Gymnastic Academy and helped run the Coker Acrobatics and Tumbling Kids Camp. McAfee was the Acrobatics and Tumbling Team Captain from 2022-23 and helped other student-athletes on campus as a Peer Tutoring and Study Hall Leader and as the Acrobatics and Tumbling SAAC Representative. She also was involved in supporting other athletics programs at Coker by volunteering during gamedays for Coker Volleyball and Field Hockey.

Boernigen, a member of Lenoir-Rhyne's women's swimming team, graduated with a 3.79 grade point average in International Business and Management. She was a 2023 Academic All-America Third Team selection, a four-time First Team Scholar All-American, and appeared on either the Lenoir-Rhyne Dean's or President's List all four years of competition. Boernigen was a 2023 Business Honors Academy member and the 2022 Mortar Board Vice President. She was also a member of the Delta Mu Delta International Honor Society in Business and is a two-time Chi Alpha Sigma Honor Society honoree.

The Munchen, Germany native holds school records in the 200 IM, 400 IM, 50 Butterfly, 100 Freestyle, and 200 Freestyle. She was named the SAC Swimmer of the week three times during her career and was voted the swim team MVP in 2021, 2022, and 2023. Boernigen has made four appearances at the NCAA DII Swimming and Diving National Championships, earning All-American honors.

Outside of the pool, Boernigen was heavily involved in the Lenoir-Rhyne community. She worked as a Bear of Distinction tour guide and was a Lenoir-Rhyne University Tutor. She was a member of the Bears Leadership Academy and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Boernigen worked the concession stands at the Carolina Panthers games and was an intern at Infineon. She volunteered with many swim-related activities, including lifeguarding practices and hosting meets for the Special Olympics.

Hathcock, a four-time first team All-American swimmer, held a 3.87 GPA with a biology and history double major. He has earned CSCAA Scholar All-America honors for his achievements in the classroom and the pool and is a member of the Wingate University Honors College and the Alpha Chi National Honor Society, which recognizes college juniors, seniors and graduate students who are in the top 10% of their class. Hathcock was a 2022 Wellspring Symposium "Most Outstanding Oral Presentation" award recipient and was a 2021 Reeves Research Grant Recipient for his research titled "Danger Zone: Observing the Presence of Heat Shock Protein in Kudzu Bug Populations". He was a Junior Marshal for Wingate's May 2022 Commencement, earning the honors by being in the top 10% of his class. 

Hathcock's Wingate athletic career concluded with a first team All-American swim. In the final race of the 2023 NCAA Division II swimming championships in Indianapolis, Hathcock and three teammates finished eighth in the 400 Freestyle Relay, collecting first team All-American honors. The Seymour, Tennessee native participated in the inaugural South Atlantic Conference swimming championships in February. Hathcock and three teammates earned SAC championships in the 400 and 800 Freestyle Relays as the Bulldogs won the 2023 SAC title. He was All-SAC in four events: the two relays plus the 200 and 500 Freestyle races. Hathcock posted NCAA B cuts in the 100, the 200 and the 500 Freestyle races this year.

Hathcock is very active outside of the pool, serving as Wingate University team captain as voted by his teammates. He is the Vice President of Finance (2022-23) for Wingate University Student Government Association and previously served as the Senator (2019-21) and Committee Chair (2021-22). Hathcock is involved as a mentor in many programs, including the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Admission Lead/ Top Dog Tour Guides, the Presidential Ambassadors, Orientation Leaders and Gateway Mentors, the Biology Intensive Orientation Seminar, and the Academic Resource Center as a Supplemental Instructor. 

McAfee and Boernigen will move forward as the Conference's nominees for the NCAA Woman of the Year award.

Established in 1991, the NCAA Woman of the Year award is rooted in Title IX and recognizes graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their NCAA eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service and leadership throughout their collegiate careers.

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