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Clemson Athletes Excell in the Classroom

May 20, 1999

CLEMSON, S.C. – Student-athletes at Clemson set semester records for overall GPA, academic honor roll members, Dean’s List and President’s List honorees according to a report released by the University’s Athletic Council on Thursday.

Clemson’s 445 student-athletes posted a combined GPA of 2.71, breaking the previous best of 2.69 set in the spring of 1998. It was just .07 short of the overall Clemson student GPA of 2.78 for the spring semester. A total of 181 student-athletes were on the academic honor roll (3.0 GPA or better), also a single semester record. The career cumulative GPA of every athletic team at Clemson is currently at least a 2.38.

A record Twenty-one student-athletes were on the President’s List (4.0) and a record 72 student-athletes made the Dean’s List. Seventeen of the student-athletes were first or second-team All-ACC on the field and were on the academic honor roll in the classroom.

“The success of any program depends on commitment, leadership, and, continuity,” said Ron Thomas, chairman of the athletic council. “The Athletic Department made a commitment to academic performance nine years ago with the establishment of the student-athlete enrichment program in Vickery Hall. Bill D’Andrea and his staff have provided the leadership and the continuity.”

The Tiger football team had a record GPA of 2.38 for the spring semester, Tommy Bowden’s first semester as Clemson head coach. It broke the mark of 2.37 set in the spring of 1993. The grid team had 23 academic honor roll recipients, fourth highest on record and second best by that team in the last 12 semesters.

Leading the way for the Clemson football team in the classroom was starting center Kyle Young, who had a perfect 4.0. Quarterback Brandon Streeter was also on the academic honor roll. Eleven football players were on the Dean’s List in the spring semester. It was also a good year in terms of graduating players. Eleven seniors from last year’s team already have their degrees. By August, 14 of the 18 seniors on the 1998 team will have their undergraduate degrees.

The Clemson golf team, ranked number-one in the nation on the course all spring by the Sagarin poll, also had a record setting semester in the classroom. Larry Penley’s team posted a 3.20 team GPA, highest on record, and nine of the 11 members of the team were on the academic honor roll (3.0 or better).

The list of academic honor roll members included Jonathan Byrd and John Engler, both first-team All-ACC players on the course. Engler is ranked fourth and Byrd fifth according to the latest Mastercard Collegiate Golf Rankings.

The Clemson women’s tennis team had the highest team GPA with a 3.21. It was the ninth time in the last 10 semesters that the Lady Tigers tennis team had a 3.0 team GPA or better. Six of the eight members of Nancy Harris’s team were on the academic honor roll. The men’s tennis team also had a solid semester with a 2.88 GPA, its highest in seven semesters. A record tying 10 of the 16 team members were on the honor roll.

The Clemson rowing team, in its first year of varsity status, had a department best 28 academic honor roll members out of its 46 roster members. The team had a 3.08 GPA, up from 3.03 in the first semester. Five members of the team had a perfect 4.0 in the classroom.

The men’s soccer team had a 2.96 team GPA, its third highest semester on record, and 13 of the 24 team members were on the academic honor roll, tied for the highest total in that sport’s history. Academic All-America swimmers Will York and Jennifer Mihalik were two of the 24 swimmers on the academic honor roll.

The Lady Tiger basketball team had seven academic honor roll selections, led by first-team All-ACC player Amy Geren, who graduated on May 7. The men’s basketball team had three academic honor roll selections, led by Tom Wideman, who had a perfect 4.0. Wideman, who also graduated May 7, was an NCAA All-District III Academic choice, was the recipient of the ACC’s Weaver-James-Corrigan scholarship and an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, one of just six Division I players in the nation so honored.

All-ACC on the Field and member of Academic Honor Roll Jonathan Byrd (golf), John Engler (golf), Josh Campbell (men’s soccer), Mark Lisi (men’s soccer), Mike Potempa (men’s soccer), Tomasz Boniecki (men’s tennis), Estaban Diaz (men’s track), Ato Modibo (men’s track), Amy Geren (women’s basketball), Nikkie Bouyer (women’s track), Julianne Littman (women’s track), Alison Coday (volleyball), Cindy Stern (volleyball), Jennifer Mihalik (women’s swimming), Carmina Giraldo (women’s tennis), Beth Keller (women’s soccer).

President’s List for Spring 1999 Semester Derek Borgert (baseball), Tom Wideman (men’s basketball), Alison Cartee (rowing), Dawn Jackson (rowing), Christina Lindsey (rowing), Catherine Pitko (rowing), Laura Slice (rowing), Doug Brunson (football), Morgan Woodward (football), Kevin Conway (men’s soccer), Sean Wallace (men’s swimming), David Abel (Men’s track), Jason Putnam (men’s track), Katja Pettinen (women’s track), Alison Coday (volleyball), Heidi Cooper (volleyball), Virginia Kirouac (women’s swimming), Amy Suppinger (women’s swimming), Katherine Mizell (women’s swimming), Katherine Carson (women’s soccer), Meredith Chandler (women’s tennis).

Clemson Team GPAs

Sport              Spring 99    CumulativeBaseball            2.59          2.64Men's Basketball    1.92          2.38Women's Basketball  2.52          2.62Football            2.38          2.41Golf                3.20          2.99Women's Rowing      3.08          3.00Men's Soccer        2.96          2.82Women's Soccer      2.68          2.73Men's Swimming      2.44          2.55Women's Swimming    2.99          2.94Men's Tennis        2.88          2.87Women's Tennis      3.21          3.05Men's Track         2.76          2.76Women's Track       2.65          2.67Volleyball          2.90          2.96

Overall 2.71 Managers 3.03 Trainers 2.88

Academic Honor Roll Spring 1999 Semester

Baseball (12) — Derek Borgert, Jackson Cook, Jesse Douglass, William Johnson, Bradley LeCroy, Mike Paradis, Steve Reba, Grant Redding, Doug Roper, Justin Singleton, Henri Stanley, Jeff Vessell

Men’s Basketball (3)– Adam Allenspach, Pasha Baines, Tom Wideman

Women’s Basketball (7)– Erin Batth, Nikki Blasingame, Angie Cossey, Nuria Forns, Amy Geren, Amirah Leonard, Courtney Wittstruck

Football (23)– Robert Bradford, Doug Brunson, Chad Carson, Jason Greene, Tucker Hamrick, David Haselden, Kelcey Hatcher, Will Merrit, Ted Miller, Marcez Mitchell, Henry Owen, Jackie Robinson, Ryan Romano, Matt Schell, Chad Speck, Jason Stockunas, John Strait, Brandon Streeter, Russel Stuerman, Justin Watts, Waymon White, Morgan Woodward, Kyle Young

Golf (9)– Jonathan Byrd, Ben Duncan, John Engler, Luke Ferguson, Trip James, Ben Johnson, Robert King, Jani Saari, Sean Thornton

Women’s Rowing (28)– Meridith Brand, Kim Brown, Gail Cadroniga, Allison Cartee, Nicole Collier, Julie Dillon, Lucy Doolittle, Nicole Eble, Nicole Elliot, Lynn Hall, Lauren Hayworth, Lauren Henne, Kathie Hunter, Dawn Jackson, Courtney Johnson, Jamiee Kamnik, Christina Lindsey, Megan Marsick, Emily Mayhew, Erin Mickey, Brie Peters, Katie Pitko, Jen Rowe, Laura Slice, Katherne Sloan, Lauren Solymos, Amanda Specht, Heather VanSomeren

Men’s Soccer (13)– Josh Campbell, Bob Cavanagh, Kevin Conway, Ross Goodacre, Andy Heck, Jeremy Iwaszkowiecz, Jason Kamlet, Russ Kiefer, Mark Lisi, Mike Potempa, Nathan Rawlings, Pablo Webster, Alan Woods.

Women’s Soccer (7)– Diana Akin, Alison Burpee, Sami Butke, Katie Carson, Leigh Clark, Troyann Gentile, Beth Keller

Men’s Swimming (5)– Robert Etheridge, Will Rogers, Adam Shapley, Sean Wallace, Will York

Women’s Swimming (19)– Leslie Anderson, Lisa Bartlett, Beverly Chin, Erin Cumbie, Meagan Davis, Carolina Douglas, Summer Ecker, Agata Jankowska, Ginny Kirouac, Magdalena Kupiec, Jennifer Mihalik, Katie Mizell, Jennifer Mooney, Julian Orico, Lauren Rafferty, Erin Schatz, Amy Suppinger, Aly Susterka, Jennifer Zappa

Men’s Tennis (10)– Colin Atkinson, Sandon Barth, Tomasz Boniecki, Eric Cohn Luis Garcia, Marko Gojanovic, Joey Hopke, Darren Knight, Tyler Manring, Marico Torres.

Women’s Tennis (6)– Meredith Chandler, Cynthia Clausen, Catherine Galvin, Carmina Giraldo, Cecilia Hincapie, Kate-Maree Mair

Men’s Track (19)–David Abel, Steve Alexander, Mike Connelly, Estaban Diaz, Todd Dunn, Adam Edgington, Thomas Felch, Tom Hopkins, Ron Kennedy, Bob Lathum, Mark Mirabito, Ato Modibo, Shaun Murphy, Jason Putnam, Tory Smith, Wade Van Sice, Robert VanWageninge, Brett Varner, Clay Wiggins

Women’s Track (13)– Beth Ahearn, Nikkie Bouyer, Stephanie Hicks, Holly Leonard, Julianne Littmann, Melissa Manning, Mandy McLane, Jennifer Meador, Katja Pettinen, Julie Polovick, Julie Stackhouse, Anne Stowell, Erika Van Reenen

Volleyball (7)– Anne Berki, Tami Bysura, Alison Coday, Heidi Cooper, Stephanie Schulz, Cinty Stern, Mary Trull

Managers (22)– Brad Batson, Spencer Bernstein, James Bickley, Kim Brice, Leslie Clayton, Joe Egan, Bill Lockey, Hillary Lowe, Aimee Mastin, Jennifer McGinnis, Dan Newlin, Kathryn Owen, Andrew Paland, Marcey Payne, Kevin Pederson, Tracy Powell, Amy Southern, Greg Sullivan, Michael Taylor, Matthew Thomas, Philip Wieczorkowski, Josh Wise

Trainers (4)– Josef Clark, Kindra Poole, Steve Sattazahn, Mike Sutton

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