Clemson Establishes Records in the Classroom

by Press Release - Tue Feb 05 16:04:52 GMT-04:00 2008

Clemson, SC-Clemson's 15 sports programs established a record for student-athletes named to the President's List in a semester and had the best fall semester on record according to data released by the University's Office of Institutional Research. Six of the 15 programs recorded over a 3.0 GPA for the semester and 239 student-athletes had over a 3.0 for the semester, the second highest total on record.

Fifty-three student-athletes had a perfect 4.0 for the semester, breaking the previous mark of 44 set in the Spring semesters of 2004 and 2006. The previous high for a fall semester was 40 set in the fall of 2003. The 239 student-athletes on the academic honor roll (3.0 or better)is second behind the 245 selections in the spring of 2005.

"We congratulate Becky Bowman and the staff at Vickery Hall," said Athletic Director Terry Don Phillips. "We continue to set records academically and it is the result of hard work by her department. I also commend the coaches on continuing to make academic performance a top priority. We are consistently having strong results academically and it is a critical part of our overall mission within the University."

Six Clemson programs had a 3.0 or better, led by the women's soccer team, which had a 3.32. That was the sixth straight semester with a 3.3 or better team GPA for the squad. Four starters off the team that reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament had a perfect 4.0 in the classroom. That list included Amber Funk, Lindsey Jackson, Molly Johnson and Nuria Zufia.

The men's tennis team under retiring 33-year coach Chuck Kriese had the top semester among the men's programs. The 3.24 team GPA was the best semester on record for the men's tennis program and eight members of the team had a 3.0 or better, the most in 17 semesters.

Other programs who had a 3.0 or better were the rowing (3.26), women's swimming (3.24), women's tennis (3.18) and women's track (3.05) programs. The rowing program has had at least a 3.0 team GPA for all 19 semester of its existence. That program had 43 student-athletes named to the academic honor roll, more than any other program.

It was the 17th straight semester over a 3.0 for the women's swimming program and the seventh in the last eight semesters for Nancy Harris's top 10 women's tennis team. It was the fifth straight semester over a 3.0 for the women's track program.

The Clemson football program had a 2.53 GPA for the semester, the third best on record and the best ever for a fall semester. Each of the top eight semester GPAs on record for the Clemson program have come under Tommy Bowden. Thirty-nine members of the team made the ACC academic honor roll, tied for the third highest total on record. Among the Tiger gridders who made the academic honor roll were punter Jimmy Manners, who had a perfect 4.0, starting cornerbacks Chris Chancellor and Crezdon Butler, and running back C.J. Spiller, the most valuable player of the 2008 Chick-fil-A Bowl. Five Tigers were named to the All-ACC Academic team, tied for the most in history.

The Clemson men's basketball team had a 2.41 GPA for the semester and had two starters on the academic honor roll, K.C. Rivers and Cliff Hammonds. Hammonds made a perfect 4.0 in his double major of architecture and sociology and is a candidate for the Academic All-America team this year.

Other prominent student-athletes who made the academic honor roll include Doug Hogan, the top returning home run hitter on the Clemson baseball team, two-sport athlete Mark Buchholz, starting offensive lineman Thomas Austin, and golfers Sam Saunders and Tanner Ervin, Volleyball players Laura Boozer and Leslie Mansfield, leaders of Clemson's 29-4 team that finished in the top 25 in the nation, were also academic honor roll selections. Women's swimmer Michelle Parkhurst earned a 4.0 in the classroom as well.

Semester GPAs by Sport, Fall 2007

Baseball 2.83

Basketball, M 2.41

Basketball, W 2.04

Football 2.53

Golf 2.82

Soccer, Men 2.91

Soccer, Women 3.32

Swimming, Men 2.80

Swimming, Women 3.24

Tennis, Men 3.24

Tennis, Women 3.18

Track, Men 2.66

Track, Women 3.05

Volleyball 2.80

Rowing 3.26

Overall 2.87

FALL 2007 ATHLETIC HONOR ROLL

BASEBALL (14):

William Bond, Charles Delk, Christopher Fidrych, Michal Freeman, Douglas Hogan, Alex Lee, Alexander Martin, Clinton McKinney, Justin Sarratt, Jeffrey Schaus, Graham Stoneburner, Joshua Thraikill, Matthew Vaughn, William Ward

Football (39):

Robert Adams, Thomas Austin, Bryan Baker, Mark Buchholz, Crezdon Butler, Christian Chancellor, Brandon Clear, Byron Clear, Mason Cloy, Chatham Diehl, Xavier Dye, John Early, Nelson Faerber, Bradley Flowers, Darius Gather, Brian Hill, Matthew Knowles, William Korn, Colin Leonard, Paul Macko, James Maners, Brandon Oliver, Michael Palmer, Alexander Pearson, Thomas Ramsey, Herbert Reese, Akeem Robinson, Coty Sensabaugh, Caleb Simmons, Brian Sorrells, Brandon Speweik, CJ Spiller, Joshua Stone, Preston Stone, Joel Varnedoe, Michael Wade, Jacob Walker, Britton Whetsell, John Wright

Golf (6):

Alex Boyd, Tanner Ervin, Luke Hopkins, Sam Saunders, Zack Siefert, Michael Soowal

Men's Basketball (3):

Jonah Baize, Cliff Hammonds, KC Rivers

Men's Soccer (17)

David Bell, Paulo Bonfim, Michael Brooks, Mark Buchholz, Gregory Burana, Gregory Eckhardt, Bryson Moore, David Newton, Luis Onate, Thomas Priest, Parker Rogers, Scott Rosman, Jeffrey Routh, James Spearman, John Tardy, Nathan Thornton, Tyler Williams

Men's Swimming and Diving (12)

Matthew Balderston, William Charlton, James Crout, Adam Farnham, Saen Geary, Michael Herrington, Josef Knecht, Eric Lane, Daniel Mengering, Brian Possee, Kyle Shoemaker, Hoyle Thompson

Men's Track and Field (13)

Colin Abercrombie, Samuel Bryfczynski, Daniel Cartica, Michael Feathers, George Fields, Chad Holt, Tyler Morey, Walter Moss, Andrew Porter, Shane Reighard, Jonathan Sunde, Jasen Turnbull, Stephen White

Men's Tennis (8)

Rok Bizjak, German Boryachinskiy, Derek Difazio, Tino Elgner, Kevin Fleck, Kevin Galloway, Robert Pietrucha, Eddie Wang

Rowing (43)

Llyn Allen, Andrea Belbusti, Megan Bendik, Caroline Borgan, Jacquelyn Bray, Kimberly Brendle, Leslie Bunn, Amanda Chivers, Allison Colberg, Catherine Cornett, Sarah Delap, Erika Fadden, Abbey Fernandez, Emily Forney, Corey Geer, Toni Gomes, Victoria Graham, Heather Greene, Ryan Greene, Paige Griffith, Lydia Hassell, Sarah Hayward, Ford Heiner, Lindsay Hook, Elizabeth Jennings, Jennifer Johnson, Leah Kelly, Teresa McClernon, Sarah McCollum, Melanie McDaniel, Satoya Murray, Michelle Nance, Caitlin O'Neill, Sara Quinn, Nicole Rau, Meredith Razzolini, Brittany Robinson, Elise Roenick, Jacqueline Spoon, Mairi Trimboli, Suzanne Van Fleet, Grace Wolff, Julia Young

Volleyball (6)

Laura Boozer, Kathleen Bridges, Susan Eckman, Leslie Mansfield, Galia Proctor, Meghan Steiner

Women's Basketball (3)

Katelyn McInerney, Emily Spray, Kirstyn Wright

Women's Soccer (20)

Mia Alphonso, Lily Boleyn, Julie Bolt, Judea Davis, Jennifer Ficklen, Samantha Fortier, Courtney Foster, Amber Funk, Fraser Gerth, Lindsey Jackson, Elizabeth Jobe, Molly Johnson, Erin Moskos, Paula Pritzen, Lia Schendel, Danielle Schmitt, Kelly Schneider, Stefanie Schroeder, Meghan Smith, Nuria Zufia

Women's Swimming (28)

Katelyn Aggas, Alexandra Allen, Jill Allen, Julie Balderston, Peg Carter, Ashley Clay, Lauren Cranston, Carmen Groenewoud, Jennifer Grove, Kelly Hendershot, Rachel Hesler, Danielle Kazilionis, Toni Kroll, Allison Lapp, Cassandra Larussa, Agata Nowak, Katrina Obas, Summer O"Donnell, Michelle Parkhurst, Sarah Porri, Rachel Regone, Whitney Sandison, Elizabeth Savage, Caitlin Seed, Sarah Smith, Amanda Snell, Rachel Sparks, Jayme Van Erden

Women's Track and Field (22)

Jenna Baker, Emily Barlage, Miriam Bernard, Lisa Brown, Linda Buchholz, Stephanie Buffo, Sunday Ford, Kendra Gauntlett, Caroline Kennedy, Lauren Klas, Anna Kokayko, Laura Laughlin, Patricia Mamona, Amy Morrison, Ra'Sheena Parker, Catheryne Porter, Danielle Powers, Susan Tucker, Bethanie Wachna, Liane Weber, Jill Yandle, Kristen Zeleznik

Women's Tennis (6)

Esefania Balda Alvarez, Kimberly Eppelsheimer, Kathryn Gerber, Laurianne Henry, Carolina Salge, Federica van Adrichem

Manager (22)

Sarah Barron, Seth Berry, James Bradshaw, Matthew Bradhsaw, Daniel Coker, John Coutsos, Jeffrey Davis, Meredith Plaherty, William Lamont, Chalah Lykes, Joseph Matthews, James McAlpine, Edd McCurry, Milford McDonald, Andrew Medvec, Justin Myers, Benjamin Newport, James Palmer, Jamison Simmons, Mark Smith, Jonathan West, Donna Wilhoite

Trainers (9)

Anthony Baily, Frankie Bennett, Adam Eargle, Caleb Gaston, Cameron Golightly, Christopher Hopkins, Ryan Sanders, Justin Wingard, Robert Worthy