Michigan State University Athletics
Winkler Earns Trio of ITA Regional Accolades
6/6/2022 11:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
East Lansing, Mich. - Recent Michigan State men's tennis graduate Jack Winkler was the recipient of three International Tennis Association (ITA) Regional awards on Monday. For Division I tennis, the ITA is broken up into 12 regions, and Winkler was chosen for the Midwest as the Most Improved Senior, also winning the Arthur Ashe award and the Rafael Osuna Sportsmanship award.
Read the full ITA release here.
The Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship award is given to the student-athletes on both a regional and national level who have exhibited outstanding sportsmanship and leadership, as well as scholastic, extracurricular and tennis achievements. The Rafael Osuna award is the longest-running accolade from the ITA and goes to a Division I men's player who displays sportsmanship, character, excellent academics and has had outstanding tennis playing accomplishments.
This is just the second time in men's tennis program history that a Spartan has received regional recognition from the ITA. In 1993, Mashiska Washington was named the ITA Midwest Rookie of the Year. Washington was a two-time All-Big Ten honoree, an ITA All-American and qualified for the 1994 NCAA Singles Championships.
The Birmingham native made his mark this season after missing out on his junior and senior years due to illness. After being medically sidelined in 2019-20, Winkler served as a volunteer assistant coach and continued to be an important leader for the Spartans. It was questionable whether or not Winkler would recover enough to return to the court, but he bounced back better than ever and commandeered both the No. 1 singles and doubles courts this year for the Green & White.
Winkler compiled a 13-17 overall record in singles action in the regular season, going 10-10 in dual matches. Playing the majority of matches at the No.1 court, Winkler recorded a 9-10 mark. He went 5-5 in his last ten matches and earned one win over a nationally-ranked opponent when he took on Stjin Slump of Middle Tennessee State on February 20.
In doubles play, Winkler combined for a 12-11 record across a variety of Spartan doubles partners. He went 6-2 with Reed Crocker, 2-2 with Nick Williams and was 3-5 when playing with Graydon Lair.
At the conclusion of the regular season, Winkler was named First Team All-Big Ten, marking the first All-B1G honor for a Spartan men's tennis player since Gjis Linders in 2015.
Academically, Winkler was named Academic All-Big Ten and received the Gwendolyn Norrell Community Outreach and Leadership Award at the 2022 Spartan Academic Excellence Gala.
The Spartans capped off the 2022 season with an exciting 4-3 win over Purdue in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, advancing to play top-seeded Ohio State before bowing out of the tournament with a 4-0 loss to the Buckeyes. MSU ended the year with a 15-14 overall mark and 2-9 record against conference opponents.
The ITA will reveal the winners of each award on a national scale next Monday, June 13.
Read the full ITA release here.
The Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship award is given to the student-athletes on both a regional and national level who have exhibited outstanding sportsmanship and leadership, as well as scholastic, extracurricular and tennis achievements. The Rafael Osuna award is the longest-running accolade from the ITA and goes to a Division I men's player who displays sportsmanship, character, excellent academics and has had outstanding tennis playing accomplishments.
This is just the second time in men's tennis program history that a Spartan has received regional recognition from the ITA. In 1993, Mashiska Washington was named the ITA Midwest Rookie of the Year. Washington was a two-time All-Big Ten honoree, an ITA All-American and qualified for the 1994 NCAA Singles Championships.
The Birmingham native made his mark this season after missing out on his junior and senior years due to illness. After being medically sidelined in 2019-20, Winkler served as a volunteer assistant coach and continued to be an important leader for the Spartans. It was questionable whether or not Winkler would recover enough to return to the court, but he bounced back better than ever and commandeered both the No. 1 singles and doubles courts this year for the Green & White.
Winkler compiled a 13-17 overall record in singles action in the regular season, going 10-10 in dual matches. Playing the majority of matches at the No.1 court, Winkler recorded a 9-10 mark. He went 5-5 in his last ten matches and earned one win over a nationally-ranked opponent when he took on Stjin Slump of Middle Tennessee State on February 20.
In doubles play, Winkler combined for a 12-11 record across a variety of Spartan doubles partners. He went 6-2 with Reed Crocker, 2-2 with Nick Williams and was 3-5 when playing with Graydon Lair.
At the conclusion of the regular season, Winkler was named First Team All-Big Ten, marking the first All-B1G honor for a Spartan men's tennis player since Gjis Linders in 2015.
Academically, Winkler was named Academic All-Big Ten and received the Gwendolyn Norrell Community Outreach and Leadership Award at the 2022 Spartan Academic Excellence Gala.
The Spartans capped off the 2022 season with an exciting 4-3 win over Purdue in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, advancing to play top-seeded Ohio State before bowing out of the tournament with a 4-0 loss to the Buckeyes. MSU ended the year with a 15-14 overall mark and 2-9 record against conference opponents.
The ITA will reveal the winners of each award on a national scale next Monday, June 13.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
Monday, April 27
Sunday, April 19
Thursday, January 23
Tuesday, January 14