Wingate’s Anna Atkinson Happy With Division II Choice

Wingate University senior guard Anna Atkinson walked off the court at Catawba Valley Community College a year ago wearing a Food Lion South Atlantic Conference tournament champion T-shirt after leading the Bulldogs to a two-point victory over Tusculum College. But perhaps no one else on that team symbolizes what was on the back of the shirt more than Atkinson.

The back of the shirt had the NCAA blue disc logo with the Division II tagline "I Chose Division II." The tagline focuses on the positive fact that many student-athletes chose to attend Division II institutions and compete in athletics because of the benefits and the DII philosophy of balancing academics and athletic competition.

During her senior year in high school, Atkinson led McDowell high School in Marion, N.C., to a 26-1 record and finished as North Carolina's all-time career assist leader. With those kind of numbers and a straight A average, she had several colleges hoping to land her basketball services. Despite being courted by some Division I schools, Atkinson chose to attend Wingate, a campus of 2,100 students nestled in a small community east of Charlotte.

"The 'I Chose Division II,' I can definitely relate to that," Atkinson said. "I wanted to come to a school where I could put academics first. I knew I could still have a life outside of the sport I played. And I knew at a Division II school, especially Wingate University, I could achieve that."

She saw the primary focus at some other colleges was strictly basketball. And for someone who had never received less than an A in any class her entire life, Atkinson saw the balance of academics and athletics offered at the Division II school.

"I could have academics and athletics and still have a social life and have friends and time on my own," Atkinson said. "That was a big thing when I was looking at Division I versus Division II. I could find that here and the campus was beautiful and I loved everything about it and decided to come here."

Wingate certainly has benefited from Atkinson's decision. Last year, Atkinson was named the South Atlantic Conference's women's basketball Player of the Year after averaging 15.6 points and 8.5 assists per game. She led the Bulldogs to the tournament championship and was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. In the NCAA Southeast Region tournament, Atkinson again came up big, leading Wingate to a surprise region championship and a trip to the Elite Eight Tournament. Atkinson was named the MVP of the region tournament.

A 5-foot-6 left-handed guard, Atkinson is deceptively quick on defense, leading the conference in steals each of her first three seasons, and savvy on offense. Although she has been Wingate's leading scorer for the past two seasons, she is most dangerous in running the offense and passing the ball to teammates.

"What makes her special is that she never takes a play off," said Wingate head women's basketball coach Barb Nelson. "She doesn't even like to come out of the game. She never allows herself not to give her best. She understands the game so well. She is always watching that ball, watching the player's eyes and knows what the player should be trying to do with the ball. If you could bottle that and sell it, I wouldn't need to work, I'd be a millionaire."

Atkinson has been well recognized for her athletic and academic success while at Wingate. Last year, she received the conference's Scholar-Athlete award for women's basketball, then captured the year-end President's Award, presented to one male and one female student-athlete in the conference on the basis of athletic skill, academic achievement and community service and leadership. She also was named the league's female Athlete of the Year, presented to the top student-athlete who made the biggest impact in the conference, regionally and nationally. She became only the third student-athlete in conference history to win both of the conference's most prestigious awards. She was one of three Division II student-athletes to earn All-American honors both on the court and in the classroom.

The awards didn't stop there. Just prior to the start of her senior year, Atkinson was selected the top female scholar-athlete by the NCAA Division II Conference Commissioner's Association, presented to just two student-athletes (one male and one female) from among the more than 88,000 student-athletes who compete at the Division II level.

Everyone who knows Atkinson says she represents the best of everything about Division II.

"Anna Atkinson defines the term scholar-athlete," said Wingate University President Dr. Jerry McGee. "She beautifully represents what the NCAA Division II is all about…a balance between academics and athletics."

"Anna Atkinson epitomizes the ideal student-athlete," said Steve Poston, Wingate University vice-president and director of athletics. "She is one person who impacts our campus in multiple ways. Anna is a fierce competitor on the court…a leader by example and by action. Likewise, she carries the same competitive spirit from the basketball court into the classroom. Anna makes people around her better. Wingate University is a better place thanks to Anna Atkinson's many contributions."

Off the court, Atkinson is no quiet bookworm. Her typical day sounds like any other regular college student. She gets up about an hour before her first class of the day. After classes or during breaks, she tries to get a little studying in before heading to practice. After practice, she likes to have some down time and watches television or hangs out with friends. Then at night, when things are quiet, she hits the books.

"The good thing about me is I try not to procrastinate," Atkinson said. "I try to stay ahead with my schoolwork so basketball can't get in the way of that."

The closest thing to a blemish on her transcript was her junior year in high school. She made a B in an English class during one mid-semester progress report.

"But I ended up making an A in the class," she said.

With one final semester to go, Atkinson doesn't want to break her perfect streak.

"It just motivates me to study harder and keep my GPA up and keep that record clean. But there's not necessarily pressure. If I make a B in my last semester, I would be upset, but it wouldn't be the end of the world."

Perhaps it helps that Atkinson doesn't view school and classes as a chore, but an opportunity to learn something new.

Nelson related a story from the fall semester when Atkinson and a teammate were taking a science class together and were required to collect various insects to study. For many students, that may not sound like a pleasant task. But Atkinson turned the exploration and gathering of the bugs an adventurous treasure hunt that ended up involving the entire team.

"I've never seen two kids with so much excitement for collecting bugs," Nelson said. "The whole team was looking for bugs on campus. Everybody would carry their little plastic bags, including the coaches, and when we found a bug we'd put it in the plastic bags and bring it to them. They saw it as something new and something they knew nothing about, learned a lot about bugs and had a great time. They really got excited about learning about something totally new."

Goal-setting has been part of her make-up since a young age. While getting fitted for braces in the sixth grade, Atkinson became fascinated with teeth and dentistry and hopes to realize her long-held aspiration of becoming a dentist. After she graduates in May with a degree in biology, she plans to attend dental school.

And she'll leave a big hole to fill at Wingate and in the South Atlantic Conference.

Halfway through her senior season, she stands second in the conference record book for all-time assists and all-time steals, and could break both marks before she walks off the court for the final time. She hopes that day doesn't happen at the Food Lion SAC Tournament.

She still remembers last year's nip-and-tuck affair with Tusculum.

"That game was probably the most exciting basketball experience in my career," Atkinson said. "Obviously at the beginning of the season we weren't supposed to be very good, ranked seventh in the conference. We positioned ourselves to go into the tournament, we were seeded second behind Tusculum, and that game with Tusculum was the best game in my recent memory in my career. Both teams played as hard as they could and we just came out on top."

Coming out on top seems to be a common practice for Atkinson. As her time at Wingate nears a close, she looks back fondly on the decision to attend a Division II school that offered everything she was looking for - small classes, a tight-knit community, a Christian atmosphere, and an opportunity to play basketball.

"I can't imagine being anywhere else," Atkinson said. "I can't imagine what would be better somewhere else. This is the life that I chose when I was a senior in high school and it couldn't have turned out any better for me."

- By Dennis Switzer
South Atlantic Conference Director of Sports Administration and Information