June 14, 1999
1998-99 Clemson Sports Year in Review Capsule
Program Accomplishments
Seven Clemson teams ranked in the final top 20 of theirrespective sports. That includes four top 10 teams (Men’s soccer,women’s basketball, golf and men’s indoor track). Two teams, men’ssoccer and golf, were ranked number-one in the nation at varioustimes during the season. It marked the fourth straight year Clemsonhas had at least seven top 25 teams. Thirteen of Clemson’s 19 teamsadvanced to postseason play. Seven of the 13 finished in the Sweet16 or better of their respective postseason events. Clemson teamshad 24 individuals who were chosen All-American during the academicyear, the most All-Americans for the program since 1992-93 when theschool had a record 28 individuals earn All-America honors. Clemsonhad 58 All-ACC selections for its athletic teams in 1998-99, itshighest total since the 1991-92 school year when Clemson had 64first-team All-ACC players. All but two of Clemson’s teams had atleast one first-team All-ACC player. Clemson won four ACCchampionships in 1998-99, the third straight year Clemson has wonat least four titles. Clemson ACC Championship teams this year camefrom men’s soccer, women’s basketball, men’s indoor track andwomen’s outdoor track. The Tigers were especially successful whenchallenging outstanding teams. Clemson had 33 wins over top 25teams this year and eight different teams had at least one win overa top 25 team. That does not include the golf and track teams whowon tournaments and meets that included top 10 teams. It was themost top 25 wins in an academic year since 1993-94 when Clemson had40. The Clemson program had five different athletes win nationalchampionships in 1998-99. Four of the athletes were in men’s trackand Lady Tiger Amy Geren won the national three-point shootingcontest of college basketball (men and women combined). For thesecond straight year, Clemson was dominant in head to headcompetition against state rival South Carolina. Clemson was perfectagainst the Gamecocks in football, men’s and women’s basketball,baseball and men’s and women’s soccer, and posted an overall recordof 13-7 against South Carolina. Once again Clemson was one of thetop soccer programs in the nation. Both Clemson soccer teamsfinished in the top 11 of their respective polls and advanced to atleast the sweet 16 of their respective NCAA tournaments. Clemsonwas the only school in the country in the top 11 in both finalpolls. Five athletes in three different sports were chosen withinthe first 30 selections of their respective professional drafts.Football star Antwan Edwards was a first-round selection of theGreen Bay Packers, while baseball pitcher Mike Paradis was the #13selection of the Major League Baseball draft by the BaltimoreOrioles. Clemson had three players chosen within the first 18selections of the Major League Soccer draft. John Wilson was the14th pick to Kansas City, Wojtek Krakowiak was the 15th selectionto San Jose and Jeff Bilyk was the 18th choice to Columbus.
Individual Accomplishments
Soccer star Wojtek Krakowiak won the prestigious Hermann Awardas the top player in college soccer. He was just the second Clemsonsoccer player in history to win the award (Bruce Murray is theother). Krakowiak was a unanimous first-team All-American and ledthe ACC in goals scored and points. Golfer Jonathan Byrd was afirst-team All-American and ranked sixth in the nation in the finalMastercard national rankings. He became the first golfer in Clemsonhistory to be named first-team All-ACC as a freshman, sophomore andjunior. Women’s soccer player Sara Burkett became a four-timefirst-team All-ACC selection when she was chosen this year, the13th athlete in Clemson history to be a four-time first-teamselection. She was a third-team All-American. Men’s track star AtoModibo won two national championships in his freshman year. Hebecame the first freshman in school history to win an individualchampionship as he captured the 400 meters at the indoorchampionships in the Hoosier Dome. Modibo was also a member ofClemson’s National Championship 4X400 meter relay team. Modibo wasan All-American indoors and outdoors in 1998-99. Nikkie Bouyer seta school record in the 400 meter during the outdoor season. She wasan All-American indoors in the 60 hurdles and in the 400 hurdlesoutdoors. She joined Shekera Weston as the only Lady Tigers to bechosen All-American indoors and outdoors in 1999. Cami Sink burston the women’s swimming scene. She was an All-American in herfreshman year, finishing 14th in the nation in the 400 IM and setTiger records in the 200 breast, 200 IM and 400 IM. Footballcornerback Antwan Edwards was named a first-team All-American byFootball Digest and a third-team selection by Associated Press. Hebecame Clemson’s 47th All-American in history and was named one of10 semifinalists for the Jim Thorpe Award, which is given to thetop defensive back in the nation. Point guard Terrell McIntyrebecame Clemson’s number-two ranked scorer and assist maker inschool history. He was a second-team All-ACC selection, his thirdseason on an All-ACC team and led the ACC in scoring, Clemson’sfirst ACC scoring champion since the 1986-87 season. TeammateHarold Jamison led the ACC in rebounding and was one made fieldgoal from leading the country in FG%. Patrick Boyd led the Clemsonbaseball team in hitting and home runs in a second-team All-Americaseason. A second-round draft choice out of high school, Boyd was afirst-team All-ACC outfielder in 1999. Second baseman Kurt Bultmannwas a second-team All-American and tied the ACC record for careerdoubles with 82. Amy Geren and Itoro Umoh ended a terrificfour-year run as leaders of the Lady Tiger basketball team. Bothwere first-team All-ACC and led the Lady Tigers to their second ACCTournament championship in four years, the only hoop titles inClemson history. Both eclipsed the 1000-point mark. Volleyballplayer Jodi Steffes was one of the top rookies at Clemson, helpingJolene Hoover’s team to the NCAA Tournament and a 22-win season.She was named ACC Rookie of the Year and was an All-Districtselection.
Academic Notes
The Clemson program had three GTE Academic All-Americans in1998-99. Men’s swimmer Will York and golfer Jonathan Byrd werefirst-team selections, while women’s swimmer Jennifer Mihalik was asecond-team choice. Men’s basketball player Tom Wideman was themost academically decorated student-athlete at Clemson in 1998-99.Wideman joined swimmers Will York and Jennifer Mihalik asrecipients of the ACC’s Weaver-James-Corrigan scholarship. Widemanwas one of just two ACC basketball players to win the award.Wideman was also one of just six Division I basketball players fromacross the country to win an NCAA Postgraduate scholarship. He wasalso an NCAA Academic All-District player. Student-athletes atClemson set semester records for overall GPA, academic honor rollmembers, Dean’s List and President’s List honorees in the springsemester of 1999. Clemson’s 445 student-athletes posted a combinedGPA of 2.71, breaking the previous best of 2.69 set in the springof 1998. A total of 181 student-athletes were on the academic honorroll (3.0 GPA or better), also a single semester record. The careercumulative GPA of every athletic team at Clemson is currently atleast a 2.38. A record Twenty-one student-athletes were on thePresident’s List (4.0) and a record 72 student-athletes made theDean’s List. Seventeen of the student-athletes were first orsecond-team All-ACC on the field and were on the academic honorroll in the classroom. The Tiger football team had a record GPA of2.38 for the spring semester, Tommy Bowden’s first semester asClemson head coach. It broke the mark of 2.37 set in the spring of1993. The grid team had 23 academic honor roll recipients, fourthhighest on record and second best by that team in the last 12semesters. The Clemson golf team, ranked number-one in the nationon the course all spring by the Sagarin poll, also had a recordsetting semester in the classroom. Larry Penley’s team posted a3.20 team GPA, highest on record, and nine of the 11 members of theteam were on the academic honor roll (3.0 or better). The Clemsonwomen’s tennis team had the highest team GPA with a 3.21 in thespring. It was the ninth time in the last 10 semesters that theLady Tigers tennis team had a 3.0 team GPA or better. Six of theeight members of Nancy Harris’s team were on the academic honorroll.
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).
Team Accomplishments
The Clemson golf team finished eighth at the NCAA Tournament,the programs third straight top 10. It is the first Clemson programsince the men’s soccer team had five straight top five finishesbetween 1975-79 that a Clemson program has had three straight top10 finishes. The Clemson golf team was ranked number-one in thenation for 10 straight weeks in the spring and won a record tyingfive national tournaments. Three members of the Clemson team werenamed first-team All-ACC and All-Americans. Jonathan Byrd and JohnEngler were first-team All-Americans, while Lucas Glover, whofinished eighth at the NCAA Tournament, was an honorable mentionselection. Byrd and Engler represented the United States in thePalmer Cup, while Coach Larry Penley and Glover will represent theUnited States in the US vs. Japan Cup matches. The Clemson rowingteam, in its first year of varsity status, had a department best 28academic honor roll members out of its 46 roster members. The teamhad a 3.08 GPA, up from 3.03 in the first semester. Five members ofthe team had a perfect 4.0 in the classroom. The team was alsooutstanding in the water, winning the ACC Regatta at Clemson inApril. The team ranked fourth at the Central Region Regatta,trailing only Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State and finishingfirst among all Atlantic Coast Conference teams. The Novice 8+ teamwas undefeated for the season, including the victory at the CentralRegion. The Clemson football team had six players drafted by theNFL, tied for the fifth highest total in the nation. All six of theplayers were drafted on the defensive side of the ball, the highestnumber of defensive draftees in the nation in 1999. Clemson ranked14th in the country in rushing defense, led the ACC in sacks andranked 25th in the nation in total defense. Clemson ended the yearwith a 28-19 victory over South Carolina, Clemson’s third win inthe last four years over its state rival. In men’s basketball,Clemson won 20 games for just the seventh time in the school’shistory. The victories included triumphs over rivals SouthCarolina, North Carolina, Georgia and Georgia Tech, the first timein history Clemson has beaten all four rival schools in the sameyear. Clemson had the leading scorer (Terrell McIntyre) and leadingrebounder (Harold Jamison) in the ACC in 1998-99. Larry Shyatt’s 20victories set a record for wins by a Clemson coach in his firstyear. The Tigers reached the finals of the NIT for the first timeever, defeating Georgia, Rutgers, Butler and Xavier in the process.The Lady Tiger basketball team set a school record for victoriesfor the second straight year. Jim Davis’s team had a 26-6 record,including the championship of the ACC Tournament. For the secondtime in four years Clemson defeated North Carolina to take thetitle. That was one of five wins over Top 20 teams in 1998-99 forClemson. The Tigers defeated NCAA Finalist Duke twice, the only ACCteam to defeat the Blue Devils this year. Two Lady Tigers werefirst-team All-ACC (Amy Geren and Itoro Umoh). The Clemson baseballteam was the most improved Tiger team over the course of theacademic year. Jack Leggett’s team started the year 19-16 through35 games, then finished strong with 23 wins in the last 34 games.The Tigers recorded 12 wins over top 25 teams for the season,including wins over College World Series teams Miami (FL), TexasA&M and Florida State. The victory over Florida State ended theSeminoles 21-game winning streak and marked the first time Clemsonhad gained victory over the number-one ranked team in the nation inany sport in three years. Clemson reached the finals of the ACCtournament, won the Fayetteville Regional of the NCAA Tournamentand was within three outs of qualifying for the College WorldSeries. It was the 13th straight year Clemson had gone to the NCAATournament, fourth longest streak in the nation. The Clemson men’ssoccer team was ranked number-one in the nation for much of thefall. The Tigers posted a 22-2 record, best winning percentage byany Clemson team in 1998-99. Trevor Adair, the ACC Coach of theYear, defeated seven top 25 teams this year, a record for a Clemsonmen’s soccer team. The Tigers reached the quarterfinals of the NCAAtournament before losing to eventual national champion Indiana.Wojtek Krakowiak was the top player, winning the Hermann Award asthe national player of the year. Four other Tigers made All-Americateams and three were taken in the first 18 selections of the MLSdraft. Clemson’s women’s soccer program was led by All-AmericanSara Burkett to a number-11 final ranking and 16-7 overall record.The Lady Tigers reached the finals of the ACC Tournament and theSweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. It was the fifth straight yearClemson had made the NCAA tournament and finished in the final top20 of the college poll. The program will have co-head coaches inTracy and Ray Leone in 1999. The men’s tennis team won 22 matchesand qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the 18th time under ChuckKriese. It was a landmark year for Kriese, who won his 500 match asa coach in a 5-2 victory over North Carolina in April. The LadyTigers were led by All-ACC player Carmina Giraldo, who alsoadvanced to the NCAA Tournament. The swimming program featured apair of academic All-Americans, Will York and Jennifer Mihalik, thefirst time the swimming program had an academic All-American ineach sport. It was the second straight year Mihalik won academicAll-America honors. Freshman Cami Sink was the leader in the poolfor the Lady Tigers, winning honorable mention All-America honorsin the 400 IM and set school records in the 200 breast, 200 IM and400 IM. Alex Ioanovici competed in the 50 free at the NCAAchampionship meet. The volleyball program advanced to the NCAATournament for the fourth time in six years. Jolene Hoover’s teamposted a 22-11 record. Alison Coday and Jodi Steffes were AVCAAll-District performers, while Steffes also was the ACC Rookie ofthe Year. Coday was a first-team All-ACC tournament. Junior CindyStern made an All-ACC team for the second straight year. The men’strack team had another successful year with a pair of top 20finishes. The indoor team was third in the nation and captured theACC Meet, winning nine championships. Ato Modibo and the 4X400relay team captured national championships. Combined, the indoorand outdoor teams had 19 All-Americans. The Lady Tiger track teamwon the outdoor ACC championship, ending North Carolina’sseven-year reign. Erin Nett was freshman of the year in the ACCindoors and outdoors after setting ACC marks in the pole vault, atboth meets. Coach Ron Garner was named ACC outdoor track coach ofthe year.
December 8, 2024
