This week gives us one final chance to look back on some remarkable achievements from Tiger student-athletes in 2013-14. Sometimes exceptional talents are overlooked when championships are on the line or when the sport isn’t necessarily spectator-friendly, so I thought it would be appropriate to highlight 25 standout seasons at Clemson over the past academic year. Today, we continue our countdown starting with 20…
20. Emily Howard, Diving
Diving is a sport that many people simply don’t understand. Trust me, I sympathize. I feel like I know very little about the ins and outs of the sport, and I spent my final year as a graduate assistant working with the diving team at Clemson.
It’s been a difficult transition as diving has become a standalone varsity sport at Clemson, but student-athletes like Emily Howard have made things easier. Howard is a super ambassador for the school, as she will leave Clemson with honors for academics, community service, and leadership.
In addition, she set the school record in both the one-meter and the three-meter and qualified for NCAA Zones in both events. She was also named the ACC Diver of the Week in February, a first in program history. Howard might fly under the radar, but her accomplishments speak for themselves.
19. Jay Baum, Baseball
Forget what Jay Baum did during the 2014 season. Instead, think about what he was expected to do. It gives an interesting perspective on his rise this season.
After earning a reputation as a light hitter over the past two seasons, Baum busted out at the plate in 2014. He led the Tigers in batting average and doubles in ACC competition. Perhaps more importantly, Baum played three different positions in the field this season and found a home at shortstop. He was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the 21st round of the MLB Draft and will parlay his breakout year into a professional career.
18. Kyle Fisher, Men’s Soccer
Sometimes it’s hard to quantify the value of a quality defender in soccer. For those of us who can watch the game but don’t understand it at an intimate level, much of our praise of a player comes after hearing or seeing praise from others. This is the case with Kyle Fisher.
It wasn’t difficult to see Fisher was the rock of Clemson’s defense, consistently embodying the resilient mentality instilled in the team by Head Coach Mike Noonan. He only had two goals in 2013, but that’s not how success is measured for a soccer defender. Fisher was named a third-team All-American by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and a third-team all-ACC performer for his efforts. In this case, I’ll take the experts’ word for it.
17. Yana Koroleva, Women’s Tennis
The women’s tennis program at Clemson has undergone a bit of a rebuild over the past couple of seasons as talented veterans exited the program en masse. But the youngsters have come of age in time, none more impressively than Yana Koroleva.
The senior from Russia advanced to the second round of the NCAA Singles Championships and finished 15th nationally in doubles with partner Beatrice Gumulya, the highest finish for a Tiger tandem in three years. She was the only Clemson player to finish inside of the top 35 in both singles and doubles, and she did it for a team that finished the regular season with a share of the ACC lead.
16. Sloan Shanahan, Women’s Golf
For in-depth followers of Clemson athletics, this season has featured an interesting conversation about how to value the accomplishments of the women’s golf team. As a new program largely comprised of freshmen, expectations weren’t exactly high. But a couple of team members achieved a great deal in a tough situation.
One of them was Sloan Shanahan. The Suwanee, GA native wrapped up her season with three top 10 finishes and a top 30 performance at the ACC Championships. Only two players in the nation hit more fairways than Shanahan, whose performance earned her the nod as a third-team all-conference selection.
Tomorrow, we will highlight players 11-15 on the list of top performers in Clemson athletics in 2013-14.
God Bless!
WQ