Covenant men's tennis senior Ben Luke was named the USA South Don Scalf Male Athlete of the Year, announced the conference on Thursday.
Luke, a 2022 graduate of Covenant and a four-year member on the court for the Scots, becomes the second consecutive Covenant student-athlete to garner the prestigious honor (Noah Lee '21, 2021).
From Greenwood, S.C., Luke was a mainstay at the top of the lineup during his first four years as a Scot. A two-year captain for the Scots, Luke was a three-time All-USA South honoree and was first team All-USA South in 2021. He compiled 31 singles wins and 29 in doubles play over the last four seasons. Against USA South foes, he was nearly unbeatable over the last two seasons with a combined 17-1 record between doubles and singles competition.
"Being selected as the Don Scalf Award recipient is an enormous honor for me," said Luke. "After having competed for four years at Covenant and knowing the talent that is within the USA South Conference, it is also a very humbling experience being chosen. I look back on the past four years with tremendous gratitude for the people who have shaped me and formed me, including wonderful friends, coaches, professors, and mentors. I am truly indebted to Covenant's unique community for the ways in which it has equipped me for life ahead. Forever and always, Go Scots!"
Luke earned a pair of weekly awards from the USA South as a junior and was the Scots' representative on the All-Sportsmanship team as a freshman in 2019.
"I'm beyond thrilled that Ben has been honored with this year's Don Scalf award. He's proven himself to be the epitome of what it looks like to pursue excellence in everything he does -- be it his diligence in his studies, his hunger to improve as an athlete and a tennis player, and most importantly, his desire to grow as a young man who loves Jesus," said Covenant head men's tennis coach John Hirte. "Ben has proven to be a loyal teammate, a tenacious competitor, and a wonderful member of our campus community for these past four years, and I'm excited to see how the Lord uses him in the years to come."
Academically, Luke graduated with a degree in physics in 2022 with a 3.90 GPA. He earned the program's first CoSIDA Academic All-District honor in 2021 and was a four-time USA South All-Academic honoree. He also earned Covenant Dean's List honors eight times and was a seven-time member of Covenant's Athletic Honor Roll.
Luke was active in the community, both on and off the Covenant campus. He served as a team captain for two years and tutored in Covenant's physics department. He was a research assistant at both Covenant College and Furman University, had a published work, and presented at the Southeastern Section of the American Physical Society (SESAPS) in November 2021. Off campus, Luke taught English as a second language in the Chattanooga area.
To be eligible for each award a student-athlete must have competed in an NCAA-sponsored sport, earned an undergraduate degree no later than the summer 2022 term, and have a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 2.50 on a 4.00 scale.
Don Scalf's commitment to the student-athlete, guardianship of the value of academic achievement, and devotion to the principles of Division III athletics set a standard that holds steadfast in the USA South Athletics Conference today. He taught for 36 years and coached for 18 at N.C. Wesleyan College. In addition, he was a founding father of the DIAC in 1963 and served as its Secretary-Treasurer for 25 years.
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