Hello Tiger fans!
I thought this would be a good time to reflect on the tremendous success enjoyed by our athletic teams on what was dubbed “Solid Orange Weekend,” April 12-14 in Clemson. Our teams not only went undefeated, but IPTAY members and Tiger fans were able to gather and participate in fellowship on what turned out to be a beautiful weekend in the Upstate.
We had over 140 former letterwinners participate in our spring golf outing at the Walker Course and Cross Creek Plantation on Friday afternoon, and then over 300 were on hand for the awards dinner that night. It was great to spend time with some of our alumni and their families. Dabo Swinney also held his All-In Ball at the new indoor practice facility on Friday, and over $250,000 was raised for his foundation, which focuses support toward a number of worthy causes.
On Saturday, we had our annual IPTAY meeting in the multi-purpose room prior to the Spring Game. Approximately 75 to 80 donors and IPTAY Reps took part in the meeting. I enjoyed speaking to that group, along with Charles Dalton and Travis Furbee.
Saturday was a busy time athletically, with five of our sport programs competing at home. Women’s soccer and volleyball both capped off their spring seasons by winning a pair of matches. Baseball and women’s tennis enjoyed wins over Wake Forest and Virginia Tech, respectively. To top it off, we had a record turnout of over 30,000 at Memorial Stadium for the annual Orange and White Game!
The Spring Game was not the only action in the football stadium, as we also had over 80 former players involved in some capacity with the annual Sons Bowl. I was able to meet current NFL star C.J. Spiller and many other players who helped create such a rich tradition on the gridiron here at Clemson.
Baseball and women’s tennis capped the outstanding weekend on Sunday. Jack Leggett’s team used a walkoff home run by freshman Steven Duggar in the 11th inning to earn the three-game sweep of the Demon Deacons. At tennis, Nancy Harris’ bunch took down a red-hot University of Virginia team that came into the match first place in the ACC standings, 4-3.
Let’s also not forget the great work Linda White and the community relations staff did on the lawn at Littlejohn. The annual Be A T.I.G.E.R! Field Day was a tremendous success. The student-athletes who are part of the Solid Orange Squad are to be commended for their efforts with that event as well.
On a final note, congratulations to our women’s track & field team for capturing their eighth straight ACC Championship! Coach Cobey, his staff and the student-athletes – particularly the seniors who never lost an ACC title – did an outstanding job this week in Raleigh.
Dan Radakovich
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