Tennis Head Coach Tommy Arnett, left, presents Lukas Winkelmann with the “Student of the Block” award during a ceremony on May 1.
Lukas Winkelmann, a junior from Boeblingen, Germany, has been recognized as “Student of the Block” for the Seventh Block at Tusculum College.
Winkelmann, who is majoring in pre-medicine, was recognized Thursday, May 1, in a brief ceremony in the Niswonger Commons. The “Student of the Block Award” is presented by the Tusculum Office of Student Affairs and was established to recognize individuals who excel in their academic endeavors, campus involvement and/or athletic performance. The award is selected from nominations made by faculty and staff members, and plaques telling about the honorees are displayed in the Niswonger Commons and other campus buildings.
Tommy Arnett, head coach of men’s and women’s tennis, nominated Winkelmann for the honor. During the ceremony, Arnett said that Winkelmann’s numerous achievements in the classroom and on the court speak for themselves, and he wanted to speak about Winkelmann as a individual. Three words that come to mind when he thinks about Winkelmann are “caring, passionate and leadership.”
Arnett said he has watched Winkelmann interact with the children, his peers and faculty and staff, and it is obvious he is a caring person. “By passionate, I mean that Lukas puts 100 percent into whatever he does – he goes above and beyond what is expected,” Arnett said.
During his time at Tusculum, Winkelmann has grown as a person and a leader, and Arnett said he appreciates the leadership he has shown as captain of the tennis team.
As he accepted the award, Winkelmann thanked Coach Arnett and his science professors for the encouragement and assistance they have given him. He noted that Coach Arnett emphasizes to tennis team members that academics are to come first and while the coach, of course, wants them to excel on the court, he checks regularly to make sure they are doing well academically.
Winkelmann also thanked Bobbie Greenway, an academic counselor at Tusculum, whom he described as his “mom at Tusculum.” Greenway was Winkelmann’s first advisor at Tusculum and helped him as an international student get acclimated to the college and also helped him in his efforts to improve his English. “She welcomed me with a big heart and put forth a lot of effort in helping me to become successful here at Tusculum. When you are in an unfamiliar area, it pays to have someone that you can trust that will not take advantage of you.”
He also thanked former teammates Steven Lin, a 2012 Tusculum graduate, and Luis Zamora, a 2013 graduate, for providing an example of success for him to follow on both the court and in the classroom and encouraging him to be the best he can be.
As well as serving as captain of the men’s tennis team, he is a member of the Tusculum Chapter of the Alpha Chi National Honor Society and the Pioneer Student Athletic Advisory Council.
Winkelmann has been recognized numerous times for his success on the tennis court and in the classroom. Last week, he was honored as the South Atlantic Conference Scholar Athlete of the Year for men’s tennis, the second straight year he has received the honor. He has also been recognized for the past two years as the conference’s Men’s Tennis Player of the Year for his accomplishments on the court.
During the 2013-14 season, Winkelmann posted a perfect 23-0 singles record and 20-3 record in doubles, including 19-2 with his younger brother Jonas, who joined his brother last year as a student at Tusculum and member of the tennis team.
As a sophomore, Winkelmann was named to the 2012-13 Capital One Academic All-America® first team, the first Tusculum sophomore to garner Academic All-America® first team distinction. He has been named the Tusculum College Male Athlete of the Year in each of the last two years and recognized as the most valuable player of the tennis team three times.