Eight Clemson Rowers Named National Scholar Athletes by CRCA

June 22, 2009

Clemson, SC – Eight Clemson rowers have been named National Scholar Athletes by the College Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA). The award recognizes student-athletes with a 3.5 cumulative GPA or higher that competed in 75 percent of her team’s 2009 spring races.

Seniors Megan Bendik (Health Science), Melanie McDaniel (Special Education), and Nicole Rau (Biological Sciences) were each named National Scholar Athletes for the third consecutive season. Only three other student-athletes in program history have earned this award three times.

This was the second prestigious academic accomplishment for Bendik this season, as the ACC awarded her with the Weaver-James Corrigan postgraduate scholarship earlier in the year. The scholarship is given to student-athletes who have performed with distinction in both the classroom and in their sports, while demonstrating exemplary conduct in the community. Bendik is using her scholarship to pursue graduate studies at Johns Hopkins University.

Juniors Allison Colberg (Mathematics), Mairi Trimboli (Economics) each earned their second National Scholar Athlete awards. Colberg was a member of the National Champion Varsity 4+ crew, while Trimboli was a member of the Second Varsity 8+ crew this season and served as a team captain.

Bendik and Nance were members of the Varsity 8+ crew this season. The crew finished the season ranked 12th in the nation and competed in the NCAA Championship for just the second time in school history. The Varsity 8+ reached the petite finals of the national championship and finished in sixth place, which marks the best finish in Clemson history. The Varsity 8+ also earned a variety of honors from the ACC, most notably being named the ACC Crew of the Year after winning the conference championship.

Two Tigers were first-time honorees, including juniors Andrea Belbusti (Language & International Trade) and Kelly Murphy (Heath Science). Murphy was also a member of the Varsity 4+ crew that won the national championship last month.