Clemson, S.C.—Marisa Messana became the first Clemson women’s golfer to be named to the Academic All-ACC team four times on Thursday. It is another in a long list of honors for the Clemson graduate who finished her eligibility in May.
In addition to Messana, sophomores Kennedy Swann and Ana Paula Valdes were also named to the team announced by the Atlantic Coast Conference office.
Messana received a Weaver-James-Corrigan Scholarship from the ACC this past spring and was inducted into the Clemson Academic Hall of Fame. She finished her career with a perfect 4.0 GPA. She has already been named an Academic Scholar by the College Golf Coaches Association three times and she is expected to be selected again later this summer. She won the Elite 90 Award from the NCAA at the 2017 NCAA Tournament as well.
Messana finished her career as a four-year starter, the first four-year starter in Clemson women’s golf history. The native of Florida finished her career second in school history in birdies.
Valdes was named to the Academic All-ACC team for the second straight year. The sophomore from Mexico has a Dean’s List average and is also expected to make the Academic Scholars team from the Golf Coaches Association later this summer. Valdes was third on the team in stroke average this past year with a 73.63 average. She was a big reason Clemson finished 24th in the final Golfstat computer ranking.
Swann made the Academic All-ACC team for the first time. She was not eligible last year because she entered Clemson in January. On the course, Swann had a 74.42 stroke average, fourth best on the team. The native of Austin, Texas finished second at the Houston-Dickson, leading Clemson to the team championship.
