Student athletes earn academic honors

Four Tusculum College student athletes have been recognized for their academic excellence at the conference and national level.

Max Gaubert, a member of the Pioneer football team, has been named to the National Football Foundation’s Hampshire Honor Society.

Tusculum also had three students named “Scholar Athlete of Year” for their respective sports in the South Atlantic Conference (SAC). Nick Forsberg was named the “Scholar Athlete of the Year” for men’s golf for the second year in a row. Tusculum scored a clean sweep in tennis – Erin Mills was named the honoree for women’s tennis and Jonas Winklelmann was the recipient for men’s tennis.

The SAC Scholar Athlete Award is presented to one male and one female student-athlete in each of the conference’s 18 championship sports.  The awards are selected by the league’s Faculty Athletic Representatives Committee.

Max Gaubert

Max Gaubert

To qualify for membership in the National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society, a student-athlete must: be a starter or significant reserve in one’s last year of eligibility at an accredited NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III or an NAIA college or university; achieve a 3.2 cumulative grade point average throughout the entire course of undergraduate study; and meet all NCAA-mandated progress towards degree requirements.

Gaubert, an offensive lineman from Bogart, Ga., has been an integral part of the Tusculum front line for the past four seasons, including the last three in the starting line-up.  He has a 3.34 cumulative grade point average and graduated in May with a Bachelor of Arts degree in special education.

The North Oconee High School graduate is a member of the South Atlantic Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll and the Tusculum Athletic Director’s Honor Roll.

 

Nick Forsberg

Nick Forsberg

Tusculum College’s Nick Forsberg was named the 2016 South Atlantic Conference Men’s Golf Scholar Athlete of the Year for a second consecutive year.

This marks the seventh time a Tusculum men’s golfer has earned this honor that recognizes academic achievement, athletic accomplishment, community service and leadership.  Tusculum’s seven honorees are the most by a league men’s golf program since 2000.

Forsberg, a native of Staples, Minn., graduated from Tusculum in May with a 3.73 cumulative grade point average and majored in sport management.  He is a four-time member of the South Atlantic Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll and the Tusculum Athletic Director’s Honor Roll.  A four-time Dean’s List honoree, Forsberg was named to the Charles Oliver Honors List.

“Nick is one of the most outstanding young men I’ve had the honor to in my 27 years at Tusculum,” said head coach Bob Dibble. “He’s an outstanding player, an outstanding teammate and a great student. It doesn’t get any better than that.”

Forsberg closed out his senior season with a 72.93 scoring average, which ranks fifth-best in program history while earning All-SAC first team accolades.  He turned in eight sub-par rounds during his senior campaign and won a share of medalist honors at the Etowah Spring Challenge.  His play helped the Pioneers to five tournament titles this past season and ended his career with a 74.40 stroke average to rank third in Tusculum history.  He posted seven top-10 finishes, including five times in the top-5.

In the 2015 South Atlantic Conference Championship, Forsberg earned medalist honors after firing a one-under par 143. As a team, the Pioneers took home five championships, including the 2015 South Atlantic Conference Men’s Golf Title last season.

He earned second-team All-Conference honors as a freshman and was named the Tusculum College Men’s Golf Most Valuable Player during his freshman and sophomore seasons.  During his sophomore campaign, Forsberg earned runner-up honors at the 2014 SAC Men’s Golf Championship.

In the community, Forsberg has served as a volunteer with the Greene County Food Bank all four years at Tusculum and has volunteered at the Nolichucky View Golf Course as a spotter at golf tournaments.  He has worked with the Make-A-Wish foundation as a volunteer and was a junior golf camp worker at the Craguns Golf Resort in his hometown in Minnesota. Forsberg is also busy on campus as he served this past year as president of the Pioneer Student-Athletes Advisory Council and was an intern in the Tusculum College Athletic Department.

 

 

Erin Mills

Erin Mills

Mills was named the 2016 South Atlantic Conference Women’s Tennis Scholar Athlete of the Year for the first time in her career. This is the sixth time that a Pioneer has won the women’s tennis honor.

A native of Duluth, Ga., Mills graduated from Tusculum in May with a 3.76 cumulative grade point average while majoring in economics and international business.  She has been named to the SAC Commissioner’s Honor Roll and earned a spot on the Charles Oliver Gray Honors List, Tusculum Athletic Director’s Honor Roll and Dean’s List each of her four years at Tusculum.  Mills was also tabbed an ITA Scholar-Athlete during her years as a Pioneer.

“Erin’s successes both on and off the court are a direct reflection of her commitment to excellence in everything she does,” said TC head coach Adam Jackson.  “She is truly a dedicated, hard-working, exceptional student-athlete, and this is a well-deserved honor. Erin embodies all the traits we are looking for in our student-athletes at Tusculum.”

Mills went 16-7 in singles this season, including a 7-4 mark in conference play. She finished 20-4 in doubles with a 10-1 mark in SAC matches. For her career, she was 57-26 in singles and 65-16 in doubles, while helping the Pioneers to a 38-4 conference record during her four years at Tusculum.

Named the  2013 SAC Freshman of the Year, Mills also took home the SAC Women’s Tennis Tournament Most Valuable Player honor during the 2014 season.  She earned All-Conference accolades three straight years and was named the Astroturf Player of the Week four times in her career.  She closed her career out on the court as a team captain this past season.

Very active in the community, Mills  has volunteered Greene County Humane Society and the Brain Rehabilitation Facility each year she has been at Tusculum.  She has also assisted with “Project Tennis in Schools” and the Greene County Ministerial Alliance Food Bank.

Mills has served as a member of the Tusculum College Student-Athlete Advisory Committee throughout her time at Tusculum and taught a personal finance class as a junior and senior.  An assisted living volunteer, she was very involved with the Tusculum Tennis Adopt a Family program.

 

Jonas Winkelmann

Jonas Winkelmann

The SAC Men’s Tennis Scholar Athlete of the Year honor is the first for Winkelmann in his career, but marks the fifth consecutive year that a Pioneer has earned this honor which recognizes academic achievement, athletic accomplishment, community service and leadership.

Winkelmann, a senior from Böblingen, Germany, graduated with a 3.68 cumulative grade point average in business administration during the spring commencement in May.  He has earned Dean’s List, Athletic Director’s Honor Roll and SAC Commissioner Honor Roll honors in each of his four years at Tusculum.  He was also named to the Charles Oliver Gray Honors List all four years at TC to go along with earning CoSIDA Academic All-America® honors during his junior season.

“Jonas is a very talented student and athlete that supports his talent through hard work in the classroom and on the court,” said Tusculum head tennis coach Adam Jackson.  “He is exactly the kind of student, athlete, and person we are trying to recruit and develop here at Tusculum. His achievements as a player and as a student are a testament to the amount of effort he puts into everything he does.”

During the 2016 season, Winkelmann posted a 13-9 singles record, including an 8-3 mark in conference play.  His doubles tandem went 20-2 overall and 10-1 in league action.

Winkelmann has earned All-SAC honors in each of his four seasons as a Pioneer and was named the Astroturf South Atlantic Conference Player of Week three times in his career.  A three-time ITA Scholar-Athlete, he was a key player for a team that went 37-5 in the SAC during his time on the squad and earned two South Atlantic Conference team titles.  He finished his career with a 60-22 record in singles play and a 74-11 record in doubles action.

In the community, Winkelmann has served as a volunteer at a local hospital and has spent time with Project “Tennis in Schools” to promote the sport of tennis at area elementary schools.  Winkelmann also participated in Tusculum Tennis Adopt-a-Family initiative to help a local family during the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons.  He has been a youth tennis clinic volunteer in his home country of Germany and has worked with the Greene County Ministerial Alliance Food Bank as a volunteer.

Winkelmann has also stayed busy helping out on the Tusculum campus.  He is a member of the TC President’s Society and served on the Tusculum Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and attended the South Atlantic Conference Leadership Conference. He was a member of the college’s “Up to Us” team that placed fifth nationwide in the campus competition in which college students raise awareness on issues stemming from the national debt among their peers.