Eleven Clemson Rowers Named National Scholar-Athletes by CRCA

June 3, 2008

Clemson, SC – Eleven Clemson rowers have been named National Scholar-Athletes by the Collegiate 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 2008 spring races. Also, the student-athletes must be upperclassmen (2nd, 3rd, or 4th year) in terms of eligibility and their head coaches must be good standing members of the CRCA.

Three Clemson rowers have perfect 4.0 GPA’s, which is second behind the University of Tulsa. They include Megan Bendik (Jr., Health Science), Allison Colberg (Soph., Mathematics), and Nicole Rau (Jr., Biological Sciences). This is the second consecutive year that Bendik and Rau have been honored by the CRCA for their strong academic performances. Colberg is a first-time honoree.

Seniors Ford Heiner (Marketing), Lizzy Jennings (Political Science), and Suzanne Van Fleet (Early Childhood Education) have also been honored by the CRCA as National Scholar Athletes. They have each earned this honor for three consecutive seasons, becoming the first Clemson rowers to do so in the history of the program. Both Heiner and Van Fleet were members of the Varsity 8+ crew that competed in the NCAA Rowing Championships for the first time in school history.

Blair Brendle (Sr., Sociology) and Melanie McDaniel (Jr., Special Education) were also named National Scholar Athletes last season. In addition to Colberg, other first time honorees include Caitlin O’Neill (Jr., Secondary Education – Math), and Mairi Trimboli (Soph., Economics).

A total of 427 student-athletes from 99 different schools were honored for their efforts during the 2008 season.