ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA – Winthrop University tennis player Megan Kauffman `19 will attend the University of Florida this fall with the help of a NCAA Ethnic Minority and Women’s Enhancement Graduate Scholarship.
She is one of 26 women nationwide to receive the $10,000 scholarship. As an awardee, Kauffman will travel to the NCAA national office in Indianapolis, Indiana, on June 6-9 for the association’s Career in Sports Forum.
An exercise science major who graduated this month from Winthrop with honors, Kauffman will seek a master’s degree in science in applied physiology and kinesiology with a concentration in human performance.
Her goal is to work for a year in the United States as a strength and conditioning coach before returning to her native country of Australia. There she wants to work with the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) which is her country’s high performance sport system, or one of its regional governing agencies.
“I originally wanted to work in physical therapy but realized that I would rather be in a setting to work with athletes,” Kauffman said. “The drive and determination they bring to workouts is a better fit for my personality.”
Kauffman, who is co-captain of the tennis team and achieved All-American status in doubles last year along with partner Lauren Proctor `19, contributed to the team wins to capture the Big South Conference championship in each of her four years. She also made the Big South Conference All-Academic Team for the past two years.
Last year’s team got past the first round of the NCAA when it upset an Auburn team ranked #20 in the country. This year’s team recently won its 21st championship under Coach Cid Carvalho’s direction and advanced to the NCAA before losing in the first round in a hard-fought battle against Oklahoma.
Of her reasons to attend Winthrop, Kauffman said she “wanted to be a part of a successful program and a winning coach.”
Her college experience exceeded her expectations for tennis and academics. The exercise science faculty members followed the team’s success and wrote letters of recommendation for graduate school. “Winthrop has a very tight knit community,” Kauffman said. “College has been everything I hoped for.”
For more information, contact Judy Longshaw, news and media services manager, at longshawj@winthrop.edu or at 803/323-2404.
