Major recognition for University of Stirling at Scottish Student Sport Awards

The University of Stirling has won three top awards at the Scottish Student Sport Awards – triumphing in the Female Athlete, Team and Coach of the Year categories.

Swimmer Angharad Evans was crowned Female Athlete of the Year for the second year in a row, while the Men’s Tennis Team and their coach Scott MacAulay won Team and Coach of the Year.

It is the second consecutive year that Stirling – Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence – has won a hattrick of accolades at the prestigious event. The 2026 awards took place at Hotel du Vin in St Andrews on Wednesday [11 June] evening.

Scott MacAulay, Lead Tennis Coach, won Coach of the Year (credit: Tymofii Donets/SSS).

Cathy Gallagher, Executive Director of Sport at the University of Stirling, said: “The Scottish Student Sport Awards are a major highlight in the sporting calendar. It was a privilege to attend this year’s event and a proud moment to see Stirling athletes and coaches celebrated for their achievements.

“Angharad has enjoyed an incredible couple of years since joining our high-performance swim programme and is smashing records on the national and international stage. To win Female Athlete of the Year for two years running is deserved recognition for her continued success, and she has an exciting summer ahead with a place on Team Scotland at the Commonwealth Games.

“Our Men’s Tennis Team, led by Scott, has had a record-breaking season – winning the four key competitions in British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) in the 2025/26 season. A huge congratulations to Scott and the team on their awards – a fitting end to their landmark year.”

Angharad Evans

Breaststroke specialist Angharad – known as Harri – is an Olympian and a World Championship medallist. She transformed her swim career after swapping a university training programme in the United States for a sports scholarship at the University of Stirling.  

In 2024, she became British champion and record holder in the 100m Breaststroke, placed sixth at her debut Olympic Games in Paris, and won silver with the Women’s 4x100m Medley Relay at the World Short Course Championships. Last year, she bettered her British record – setting a time of 1:05.37 – and won her first individual international medal, taking silver in the 200m Breaststroke at the European Aquatics Short Course Championships.

Across the 2025/26 student sport season, Harri – a Business Studies and Management student – has dominated her events at BUCS. She won the 50m, 100m and 200m breaststroke events at both the Long and Short Course Championships. She was also part of the Stirling relay teams that won gold in the Female 400m Medley and the Mixed 400m Medley at the Long Course event.

At the Aquatics GB Championships in April, Harri took gold in the 100m and 200m Breaststroke events – breaking two British records in the process. For the first time, she will represent Scotland at this summer’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Angharad Evans is Female Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive year (credit: Morgan Harlow for Aquatics GB).

Tennis

In a BUCS first, the Men’s Tennis First Team – comprising Liam Hignett, Nemanja Malesevic, Rob Cowley, Cameron Fryer and Kyle McKay – won four titles across the 2025/26 season – the National Championship, National League, Doubles and Individual Championships.

The four-trophy haul provided further evidence of the success of the University’s high-performance tennis programme under Scott MacAulay’s leadership. The Scottish Student Sport Award is Scott’s second in recent months, after being announced as Performance Coach of the Year at the Tennis Scotland Awards 2026.

Excellence

The University of Stirling is Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence. Through the powerful and inspirational combination of performance sport, recreational sport, research and education, we are delivering medals on the world stage, improving the health and wellbeing of the nation, and producing the next generation of leaders within sport.

At Stirling, athletes have access to world-class facilities, including a 50-metre pool, a state-of-the-art indoor golf studio, unrivalled outdoor space, and state-of-the-art strength and conditioning suites. In addition to its coaching and facilities, Stirling’s International Sports Scholarship Programme – one of the largest high-performance programmes in the UK – offers athletes funding support, academic flexibility, equipment and kit. It has supported hundreds of athletes since its inception in 1981 – with many competing on the world stage, including at the Olympics and Commonwealth Games. Core sports include swimming, tennis, golf, triathlon, football, rugby and curling, while individual scholarships cover all Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth Games sports.

Read more about sports scholarships at the University of Stirling.