June 19, 2003
Clemson’s Sports Program Review for 2002-03
*Golf – Larry Penley’s golf team won its first ever NCAA Championship by defeating nine-time champion Oklahoma State on its home course by two strokes. It was the first national championship for any Clemson program in 16 years. The team became the first golf team in college golf history to win a conference championship, a regional championship, and the National Championship in the same year. Those three victories, along with three others, set a school record for most tournaments won during a season. Clemson ranked first in the final Sagarin/Golfweek ratings, a full computer point ahead of the number two team. Coach Larry Penley was honored by the Coaches Association as the National Coach-of-the-Year. He also was named the District Coach of the Year and the ACC Coach of the Year. Three Tiger golfers were named All-Americans. D.J. Trahan earned first-team honors and became only the fifth Clemson golfer to be a two-time first-team All-American. Second-team All-American honoree Jack Ferguson set the Clemson record for consecutive rounds shooting par or better with 15 in a row and made the winning putt at the ACC Tournament in April. Matt Hendrix was a third-team All-American selection. He was also named to the Men’s At-Large Veriaon Academic All-District III second-team. Trahan, Ferguson, Hendrix and Greg Jones all were named to the All-ACC team as well. For the first time in Clemson history, the team had three players rated in the top 10 in the country. Trahan was ranked second, Ferguson held the number five rating and Hendix was ninth in the final Golfweek/Sagarin computer ranking.
*Baseball – Clemson’s baseball team advanced to the NCAA regionals for the 29th time in school history and for the 17th consecutive year. The team had a 14-game winning streak early in the season, from March 4 to March 24, the longest victory skein since 1996. Eight times during the season Clemson defeated a top 25 team, including three straight wins over a fourth ranked Georgia Tech team. Clemson also defeated rival South Carolina three of four meetings. The entire infield earned All-ACC honors. First baseman Michael Johnson was named to the first-team. The slugger finished his career with 58 home runs, second in school history. Ten of those home runs came against South Carolina. Second baseman David Slevin, a second-team All-ACC selection, hit safely in 22 straight games during the season, which tied for the fifth longest hitting streak in Clemson history. Brad McCann earned second-team honors at third-base and had a 20-game streak to end the season. Russell Triplett was named as the second-team All-ACC shortstop. Hurler Robert Rohrbaugh earned Freshman All-American honors (Collegiate Baseball) after posting a 3.03 ERA overall and a 1.69 ERA against top 25 teams.
*Men’s Basketball – The Tigers began the season with nine straight wins, the best start for a Clemson team since the1995-96 season. The streak included a victory over eventual NCAA tournament team Cincinnati. The 9-0 record tied for the sixth best winning streak in school history. The 2002-03 squad improved in 14 areas from the previous season, including winning percentage, RPI and turnover margin. The team led the ACC in fewest turnovers, averaging only 13.46 per game. The Tigers defeated Virginia 73-64 in Charlottesville for just their fourth road win over the Cavaliers in 25 years. It gave Clemson a sweep on the season series against Virginia. Senior point guard Ed Scott was a first-team All-ACC selection, the first Clemson point guard in 43 years and just the 10th player in Clemson history to achieve such honors. He was named the male athlete of the year in the state of South Carolina by the South Carolina Hall of Fame. Both Dick Vitale and Andy Katz named Scott National Player-of-the-Week on February 24. he became the ninth player in ACC history to record at least 1,000 points, 500 assists and 400 rebounds in a career. Oliver Purnell, who had led Dayton to a top four seed in the 2003 NCAA Tournament, was named Clemson’s head coach.
*Women’s Basketball – The women’s basketball program recorded its 200th ACC win on January 26 against Wake Forest. The team won the Sun Splash Shootout title in Nassau, Bahamas, marking the second time Clemson has won the tournament. Senior Chrissy Floyd set numerous records and earned an abundance of awards during the season. She was named to the ACC’s 50th Anniversary Team as one of the top 50 women’s basketball players in league history. She was also honored as South Carolina’s Female Co-Amateur Athlete of the Year. She was named to the first-team All-ACC, making her only the fourth person in ACC history to be an All-ACC selection (first or second team selection) for four seasons. She also earned her third consecutive District II All-American honors. Her 1,937 career points rank her as Clemson’s second all-time leading scorer, trailing only Tiger Legend Barbara Kennedy, and placed her 15th on the ACC Career Scoring list. Amanda White was named to the first-team Freshman All-ACC.
*Football – When Clemson played in the 2002 Tangerine Bowl, football coach Tommy Bowden became just the third coach in ACC history to take a program to a bowl game in each of his first four seasons. Cornerback Justin Miller was a unanimous Freshman All-American by various services and was second in the voting for ACC Rookie-of-the-Year. He led the ACC in interceptions and was fifth in the nation with eight picks. Nick Eason was named to the first-team All-ACC and finished his career 15th on Clemson’s career sack leaders list. Kicker. Linebackers John Leake and Rodney Thomas ranked second and third, respectively, in the ACC in tackles per game and both were ranked in the top 10 in the nation. The Sporting News named Brian Mance a first-team All-ACC and fourth-team All-American selection. He finished his career tied for third in school history for career interceptions with 12. Derrick Hamilton was the ACC leader in All-Purpose Running and ranked 20th in the nation with an ACC sophomore record 1883 yards. Freshman quarterback Charlie Whitehurst broke 22 records during the 2002 season, including 14 freshman records. He set single game records for completions (34) and passing yards (420) against Duke and passing efficiency (241.1) versus North Carolina. Wide receiver Jackie Robinson was a 2003 Weaver-James-Corrigan Postgraduate Scholarship winner. He was named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll each of the last five years, the first Clemson football player to do that since 1995, and left Clemson with an undergraduate degree and a masters degree.
*Rowing – The rowing team posted a third-place finish in the ACC Championships and finished fourth in the South Region for the season. The novice 8+ boat was named ACC Crew-of-the-Week on March 10 and March 31, and the Varsity 8+ earned ACC Crew-of-the-Week honors for the week of March 17. Kate Niebauer and coxswain Emily Kuivila earned All-ACC honors, and Niebauer was named an NSCA Strength and Conditioning All-American. Kuivila was also selected to the first-team All-Region. Sophomore rower Mary Nell Green was named to the second team All-Region. Green, Kulvila, and Niebauer, along with Elizabeth Noll and Diana Ulrey, were named 2003 National Scholar Athletes.
*Men’s Soccer – Trevor Adair’s men’s soccer team advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament for the 11th time in the program’s history and the fourth time in the last six years. The team finished the year ranked seventh in the Coaches’ Poll and 14th by Soccer America. Clemson held the number two ranking in the Coaches Poll for the week of September 9-16 and spent eight weeks ranked in the top 10. The victory over #1 ranked Wake Forest 2-1 in OT on November 30 was the soccer team’s sixth overall win over a number one ranked team and first since 1993. Goalkeeper Doug Warren was named a first-team All-American by the NSCAA. His 261 career saves rank him fourth in Clemson’s history. Dimelon Westfield scored 20 goals in 2002 and had five assists. He earned first-team All-ACC and second-team All-American (NSCAA) honors. The senior forward scored goals in nine consecutive matches, which is tied for the second longest scoring streak by a Clemson player.
*Women’s Soccer – Todd Bramble’s women’s soccer team advanced to the ACC Tournament Finals and made its ninth consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament. The women’s program has advanced to the NCAA tournament in every year of its existence. The team finished 25th in the Coaches Poll. Deliah Arrington was the first Clemson women’s soccer player to be named the ACC Player-of-the-Year after leading the ACC with 18 goals and a 2.05 points per game average. She set Clemson career records for total points (127) and goals scored (50). She earned second-team All-American and first-team All-South Region honors. Heather Beem finished her Clemson career tied for fifth in all-time career assists with 23, tied for sixth with 28 career goals and eighth on Clemson’s career list with 79 total points. She was named first-team All-ACC and third-team All-South Region. Sophomore Paige Ledford earned second-team All-ACC honors, and Allison Graham was selected to the Freshman All-ACC team.
*Men’s Swimming and Diving -Two members of Coach Chris Ip’s men’s swimming and diving team competed in the NCAA Championships. Rob Kummer finished in 35th-place in the 100-yard fly, and Eric Shulick posted a 32nd-place finish in the one-meter dive. Kummer was the runner-up in both the 100-yard and 200-yard fly in the ACC Championships. Mark Henly won the ACC Championship in the 200-yard back. Henly, Kummer, Shulick, and Craig Thomas all earned All-ACC honors. Thomas Rappold was named to the Men’s At-Large Verizon Academic All-District III second-team with a 4.0 GPA in computer information systems.
*Women’s Swimming and Diving -The women’s swimming and diving team had two swimmers advance to the NCAA Championships. Kim Routh finished 22nd in the 1650-yard free and 43rd overall in the 500-yard free. Mandy Commons recorded a 22nd-place finish in the 100-yard breast. The 200-yard medley relay team of Commons, Lindsey Kroeger, Courtney Humes and Elise Thieler tied for first-place in the ACC Championships. All four were named to the All-ACC team. Senior Jenna Burtch was a Women’s At-Large Verizon Academic All-American second-team selection after graduating with a 4.0 GPA in psychology. She also earned one of the prestigious Weaver-James-Corrigan Postgraduate scholarships for 2003.
*Women’s Tennis – In its highest final ranking since 1996, the women’s tennis team rose to 19th in the final ITA poll. The team upset #12 ranked North Carolina 4-3 in April to clinch sole possession of second place in the ACC regular season, its highest finish since 1994. The team advanced to the final 32 of the NCAA tournament. Julie Coin posted a 31-6 overall record, earning her an All-ACC selection and final singles ranking of 22nd by the ITA. Matched with Laurence Jayet, the team was ranked 25th in the ITA doubles poll and qualified for the NCAA Doubles Championship. Jayet also earned All-ACC honors after winning the ACC Flight Five Singles Championship. The doubles team of Alix Lacelarie and Daniela Alvarez finished the season ranked 23rd in the final ITA poll after tallying an 18-2 overall record and winning the ACC Flight Championship at the number two doubles slot. The duo won 18 consecutive matches at the number two position at one point in the season. Lacelarie was also ranked 48th in the final ITA singles poll. She was the ACC Two Singles Flight Champion and an All-ACC selection. She advanced to the second round of the NCAA Singles Championship for the second straight year.
*Men’s Tennis – Chuck Kriese’s 28th Clemson men’s tennis team finished with a 25-11 overall record, its high victory total since 1989. It was a 14-victory improvement over the previous year, the biggest one season victory jump for the program since 1962. One of the 25 was a victory over then ranked #6 Georgia on January 26 by a score of 4-3, Clemson’s first win over the Bulldogs since 1988. Georgia eventually advanced to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament. The team was 6-2 in the ACC for a second-place finish. Clemson made its 20th NCAA tournament appearance and advanced to the Final 32. Nathan Thompson and Jarmaine Jenkins competed in the NCAA Doubles Tournament. John Boetsch, Damiisa Robinson, Sander Koning and Ash Misquith were selected to the All-ACC team. Boetsch and Robinson won the ACC Flight Two Doubles Championship and had a 5-1 mark in ACC play. Robinson won the ACC Flight Five title, posting a 26-9 overall singles record. Misquith was the Flight Six ACC Champion, going an undefeated 7-0 in the ACC. Koning finished with a 27-9 overall record in singles play.
*Men’s Track and Field -Head Coach Bob Pollock’s men’s track and field team enjoyed another successful season, as the Tigers placed second at the ACC Indoor and Outdoor Championships and fourth at the inaugural East Region Championships. At the NCAA Indoor Championships, six Tigers earned All-America honors and the team finished with a #28 final ranking. Juniors Larry Griffin and Terrance McDaniel earned All-America honors in the 60m dash and high jump, respectively, and the 4x400m relay team of Jacey Harper, Michael Bolling, Roy Cheney and Otto Spain earned the Tigers’ fifth 1600m All-America accolade since 1994. At the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Sacramento, two Tigers earned All-America honors. Freshman Itay Magidi placed eighth in the 3,000m steeplechase, and George Kitchens garnered the honor in the long jump. Rick Hill was named to the 2003 Verizon Academic All-American University Division Men’s Track third-team, the sole Atlantic Coast Conference athlete represented.
*Women’s Track and Field – Gisele Oliveira’s ACC and Clemson record-setting performance in the triple jump at the NCAA Outdoor Championships was the highlight of the Lady Tigers’ trip to Sacramento. The sophomore from Porto Alegre, Brazil, earned All-America honors in the long jump and triple jump, under the tutelage of third-year Head Coach Marcia Noad. She placed eighth in the long jump and third in the triple jump, becoming the first Clemson jumper to earn All-America accolades in two events in the same season. She was also named to the 2003 CoSIDA Academic All-District III first-team, boasting a 3.90 cumulative GPA in marketing. Senior Joana Costa made Lady Tiger history as the first pole vaulter to compete at the NCAA Championships, and senior Lauren Nicholson was the second heptathlete to advance to the national meet.
*Volleyball – Head Coach Jolene Jordan Hoover earned her 300th career victory on September 27 against Virginia. Setter Jessi Betcher was named to the second-team All-ACC and recorded her 5000th career assist against North Carolina on November 2, moving her into first place on Clemson’s career assist list. She ended the season with 5,307 career assists, giving her the record by more than 1,000 assists. Betcher and sophomore Lori Ashton were named to the AVCA All-East Region first-team. Also a first-team All-ACC selection, Ashton had a team-leading 497 kills and a .383 hitting percentage, which ranked her 14th in the nation. She is Clemson’s career hitting percentage leader with a .343 percentage and ranks sixth in Clemson history with an average of 3.24 kills per game. Kristen Swanson earned ACC All-Freshman team honors; Junior Marija Zoric was named to the second-team Verizon Academic All-District III with a 3.91 GPA in marketing.
April 18, 2024
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