It would be hard to imagine anyone who presented the total package of “student-athlete” better than Mike Morkin. A tennis standout during the mid-1980’s, Morkin was also a stalwart in the classroom as well. He earned All-American honors twice from the NCAA for his play on the court and he was an Academic All-American, as named by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) in 1985.
He came out of Bloomington, Illinois after an outstanding high school career at Bloomington High School and it didn’t take him long to assert himself in the Augustana lineup. He grabbed the number one spot as a freshman and stayed there throughout his career. By the time his career ended in 1987, he was the school’s record holder for singles victories at 58 and all of those were achieved in the rugged number-one position. He was 58-33 in singles play and won 47 doubles wins. His 105 total career victories still ranks sixth on the school’s all-time list.
During his freshman year of 1984 he won the number-one singles title in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin and helped lead Augustana to the team title. He was selected as the NCAA Division III “Freshman of Year” at the National Tennis Coaches Association in 1984.
He repeated his conference title in 1985 and was ranked as high as fourth in NCAA Division III in singles and ninth in doubles and earned All-American honors. As a sophomore he was also voted to the Academic All-American team and he helped lead the Vikings to a share of the CCIW title, the last conference championship for the Vikings in men’s tennis.
He still ranks second on the school’s all-time list for career singles victories. The 18 doubles wins that he piled up while playing with his brother Matt in 1987 when the duo went 18-11, is fifth on the single season list. In his freshman year of 1984 he was 13-3 in doubles with Steve Moe and that is 10th on the single season winning percentage list with a mark of .813.
Morkin graduated from Augustana in 1987 with degrees in math/computer science and physics. He earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Illinois College of Law and has been an attorney with Baker & McKenzie for the last 20 years. He is a principal in the litigation department, practicing in the area of international arbitration. He received the college’s “Finest Under 40” award in 2001.
He commented on his Augustana years with a one word answer: “Priceless”.
Mike married Christy Haen, class of 1988, and the couple has five children: Hannah (14), Michael (11), Madeline (10), Virginia Grace (8) and William (2).
