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German Tennis Players Star on Court and in the Classroom

Nebraska Husker athletes Janine Weinreich and Stefanie Weinstein represent two in a long line of international students, who came to Nebraska from Germany to compete on the women’s tennis team. Both business majors, they were honored at the annual Student-Athlete Recognition Banquet, where the College of Business Administration had 84 honorees with a GPA of 3.5 or more – the most of any UNL college.

Weinreich, who is from Tespe, Germany, near Hamburg, found the move to Nebraska easier than expected.

“The people here in Nebraska are super nice,” Weinreich, an international business and marketing major said. “They showed that they were going to take care of me just as well as my family back home. It was really easy to adjust to the new surroundings.”

Weinstein, who grew up in Much, Germany near Cologne, also had a smooth transition.

“At first I was only thinking about going to America for a year to improve my English and get some experience studying abroad. Then I heard from (former Husker tennis star and German native) Madeleine Geibert that she really liked it. After a few emails I decided to come here without even visiting,” Weinstein said.

Weinstein, who is majoring in business administration with minors in economics and math, pointed out that the academic support and tradition at UNL, have been essential to her success.

Weinstein and Weinreich
“My economics classes provide analytic thinking which will help me in my career in terms of organizing and working with people,” Weinstein said. “The business instructors help us too and provide us with the study materials we need when we are traveling for tennis meets.”

With the help of senior team leaders Weinreich and Weinstein, the tennis team had one of the strongest seasons in Nebraska history last year. Nationally ranked throughout the season, they competed in the NCAA Tournament.

Weinreich looks at the dual role of student-athlete with a business-like attitude.

“We study on trips and stay up a little longer because we we’re on the court a lot most days, but a lot of other students have to work in college. We look at it like tennis is our work,” Weinreich explained.

The seniors plan to keep working both on and off the court as the tennis season begins this spring.
Published: January 29, 2013