The University of Mississippi Athletics
Bram Ten Berge Receives SEC's McWhorter Award
5/29/2009 | Men's Tennis
SAN DESTIN, Fla. -- Former Ole Miss tennis player Bram ten Berge and former University of Tennessee Lady Vol swimmer Christine Magnuson were honored as recipients of the 2008-09 H. Boyd McWhorter Southeastern Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award at the annual Awards Banquet at the league's spring meeting in Destin, Fla., on May 28.
The two were chosen by a committee of Faculty Athletics Representatives from SEC universities. Both will receive a $15,000 post-graduate scholarship, provided by AT&T, an SEC Corporate Champion sponsor, and the Allstate Sugar Bowl.
"The H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Award is the highest honor a student-athlete can receive in the Southeastern Conference," said SEC Commissioner Mike Slive. "The commitment and dedication that Christine and Bram embody makes them excellent selections for the McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Award. They are outstanding representatives of their institutions and the Southeastern Conference."
ten Berge, a native from Maarssen, Netherlands, graduated from the University of Mississippi with a 3.97 grade point average, majoring in Classics, with a minor in German. He was the 2006 SEC Tennis Scholar-Athlete of the Year and a member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll. He made the Chancellor's Honor Roll every semester at Ole Miss and is a four-time ITA Scholar-Athlete recipient.
He was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi Honor Societies and earned the Eta Sigma Phi Award for Excellence in Latin twice.
On the tennis courts, ten Berge was a two-time All-America and All-SEC performer and one of two captains on this year's Rebel squad, who finished the year ranked No. 4 in the nation. He was the 2008 ITA All-American Doubles Champion and a semifinalist in the NCAA Doubles Championship last season. He helped lead the Rebels to two overall SEC Championships, four consecutive SEC West titles, two NCAA Sweet Sixteens, two NCAA Elite Eights and the NCAA Final Four in 2005.
ten Berge was active in Special Olympics, organizing annual competitions in tennis, has participated in outreach programs to local elementary schools and planned, organized and participated in local canned food drives. He was also a member of Ole Miss' Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for two years.
ten Berge is the son of Lock and Jeanette ten Berge.
ten Berge is the fourth student-athlete at Ole Miss to be named the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Ole Miss won the award in back-to-back years in 1987 with Jeff Noblin (Medicine) and 1988 with Danny Hoskins (Chemical Engineering). Rob Robertson (Biological Science) won it in 2005. All three played football for the Rebels.
