Tusculum’s Winkelmann, Wingate’s Ferguson Named SAC Tennis Scholar-Athletes of the Year

ROCK HILL, S.C. – The SAC announced on Tuesday that Tusculum sophomore Lukas Winkelmann and Wingate senior Kelli Ferguson have been selected as the conference's Men's and Women's Tennis Scholar-Athletes of the Year, an award which recognizes excellence in athletics, academics, service and leadership.

The SAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year award is presented to one male and one female student-athlete in each of the conference's 14 championship sports. The awards are voted on by the league's Faculty Athletic Representatives Committee.

Winkelmann - last season's SAC Freshman of the Year - went 16-1 playing at the No. 1 singles position during the regular season, helping lead Tusculum to a share of the conference title. He has won 11-straight singles matches heading into this week's SAC Tennis Championship.

The Boeblingen, Germany native also went a combined 11-6 in doubles contests, playing mostly at No. 1 with partner Nicolas Planchard.

In the classroom, Winkelmann sports a 3.95 GPA studying pre-medicine. He has earned selections to the Tusculum Athletic Director's Honor Roll, the TC President's List, the Charles Oliver Gray Honors List, the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll and the ITA All-Academic Team.

Winkelmann serves in numerous leadership roles, including as a team captain and as a representative on the Pioneer Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. He has also volunteered with Tusculum fundraisers and assisted the school in hosting the 2012 SAC Cross Country Championship.

"Lukas is one of those rare individuals who truly balances academics, athletic and personal life," said Tusculum head tennis coach Tommy Arnett. "Lukas has established himself as a leader among his peers in the classroom as well as on the tennis court."

Ferguson, meanwhile, was selected as the women's Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the second-straight season. She becomes only the sixth student-athlete in SAC women's tennis history to earn the honor multiple times.

Last year's SAC Tennis Championship MVP played No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles this season for Wingate, which went 9-0 in the league to win the regular-season conference title. Individually, she went 15-3 in singles contests and 13-6 in doubles play.

As a chemistry major, Ferguson carries a 3.85 GPA and was recently accepted into the Wingate School of Pharmacy, where she will continue her education. She is a member of the Alpha Chi academic fraternity, was awarded a summer grant for the Wingate University Research Symposium and gave a presentation at the SERMACS convention in Richmond, Va.

Ferguson is an active member of the local community, serving with groups that include the United Way, Habitat for Humanity and local nursing homes. She teaches tennis to children at the Charlotte Racquet Club North and has assisted at numerous other Wingate and ITA camps.

The Concord, N.C. is also a member of the WU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and helped the organization raise over $2,200 for the Make-a-Wish Foundation at a recent date auction.

"Kelli's hard work in the classroom directly translates to her tenacity on the tennis court," said Wingate head tennis coach Michael Cabana. "She has the ability to balance both a difficult academic schedule along with the demands of being a collegiate athlete."