Champions

Published exclusively for donors to the Clemson University IPTAY scholarship fund

CLEMSON BECOMES THE EIGHTH TEAM AND JUST THE FOURTH PROGRAM IN ACC HISTORY TO WIN AN ACC CHAMPIONSHIP AND NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP IN MEN’S SOCCER DURING THE SAME SEASON. 2023-24

ISSUE 4

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I N S I DE

STA FF CO-EDITORS

Kelsey Tibbs Ben Winterrowd

ART DIRECTOR Kelsey Tibbs

COVER PHOTO

Grace Bradley

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CONTRIBUTORS

Trent Alley Makenna Biehl Tim Bourret Brad Brown Lainey Calabrese Andrew Cameron Jonathan Franchi Autumn Froitland Brian Hennessy Valerie Johnson Jeff Kallin Megan Kinner Reed Kramer Billy Milam Riley Morningstar Don Munson Carson Riley Brooke Robbins Ross Taylor Ben Winterrowd

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Jada Allred Makenna Biehl Nathanael Birchfield Mikaela Carroll Collections & Archives Charissa Coleman Sam Frost Caroline Harrison Jackson Jones Jeff Kallin Matt Kamph Megan Kinner Reed Kramer Wil Langston Dawson Powers Carson Riley Abby Szlosek Blaze Watson

Orange: The Experience is published six times annually exclusively for donors to the IPTAY Scholarship Fund. A minimum priority contribution is $60, but contributions of all amounts are welcome. To join IPTAY, call 864-656-2115 or log on to ClemsonTigers.com/IPTAY. To advertise in this publication, contact Mike Money by email at mmoney@clemson.edu If you have recently changed an address or phone number, please call the IPTAY office at 864-656-2115 or visit ClemsonTigers.com and click on the IPTAY tab. You may also send your name, IPTAY number, new mailing address, email address or phone number to: IPTAY, P.O. Box 1529, Clemson, SC 29633.

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CLEMSON MEN’S SOCCER 2023 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS

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LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON

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FULLY FOCUSED

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CONTINUING EXCELLENCE

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GOLF NOW, MED SCHOOL LATER

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A GRAND GATOR BOWL FINALE

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CLEMSON WOMEN'S SOCCER: HISTORY IN THE MAKING

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BASEBALL SEASON PREVIEW

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SOFTBALL SEASON PREVIEW

Hunger. Desire. Love: The Narrative of a National Championship Story.

Jacob Bridgeman has excelled at every stop of his golf career. Even when some adversity strikes, he overcomes it and keeps pushing toward excellence.

Savannah Grewal leaves Clemson as the school’s first female graduate to earn her LPGA Tour card. She already has a plan for what comes after that.

Clemson Women’s Soccer team made their mark on history as they advanced to the program's first College Cup in 2023.

Richie Richmond lifted the national championship trophy in 1987. Over 30 years later, his son Nathan has now done the same.

Kyle Young’s stellar career at Clemson has continued from the gridiron to the Athletic Department.

A frantic fourth quarter and a memorable comeback gave Clemson a postseason win for the 13th straight season.

After its ACC championship season in 2023, Clemson Baseball is looking to advance to Omaha in 2024.

Clemson Softball is ready to knock the door down in its fifth season.

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MEN'S GOLF SEASON PREVIEW

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WOMEN'S GOLF SEASON PREVIEW

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Jordan Byrd’s third Clemson team is certainly motivated to reach the national tournament as they look to the spring of 2024.

Coming off of last year's ACC Championship, the Tigers are set to make an NCAA regional for the eighth straight year.

LACROSSE SEASON PREVIEW Coming off of an impressive inaugural season, Clemson will be playing its first season at their lakefront state-of-the-art lacrosse stadium.

MEN'S TENNIS SEASON PREVIEW

Under the helm of new head coach Brandon Wagner, a new era begins for the men’s tennis program at Clemson.

D E PARTM E NT S

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WOMEN'S TENNIS SEASON PREVIEW

Anticipation surrounds the start of the Clemson Women's Tennis season as the program is debuting an entirely new coaching staff.

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TRACK & FIELD SEASON PREVIEW

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ROWING SEASON PREVIEW

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CLEMSON OPENS GYMNASTICS, LACROSSE, ATHLETE RECOVERY FACILITIES

Following its successful 2023 indoor and outdoor season, the Clemson Track & Field program will look to continue their success.

The Tigers enter the 2024 spring season following a successful fall season.

Clemson and IPTAY celebrate the completion of its lakefront facilities with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

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From the Desk of Davis Babb PAWsitive Press Block C Club Spotlight Beyond the Game From the Broadcast Booth IPTAY Thank-A-Thon IBOD President's Column Photo of the Issue Donor Photos The Last Word

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Fellow Tigers,

I

HOPE THAT EACH OF YOU HAD A JOYOUS HOLIDAY SEASON FILLED WITH health, happiness, friends, and family as we look toward the new year ahead. Last year you joined together with a recordbreaking level of support, and we are incredibly grateful for the resources you help provide our student-athletes academically and athletically as they represent our great university to the highest standard.

Perhaps one of the most memorable highlights of the year was on December 11th, when our men’s soccer program defeated Notre Dame to clinch the program’s fourth National Championship – the most by any program at Clemson. Shortly following the end of the season, the most prestigious honor in college soccer returned to Clemson as Ousmane Sylla was named the recipient of the MAC Hermann Trophy after leading the Tigers to two national championships in the last three seasons and scoring the game-winner in this year’s final. It was a truly incredible season, and we look forward to what’s ahead.

Clemson Women’s Soccer also saw a major accomplishment in the program’s first-ever College Cup Semifinal appearance.

They finished the season with a school-record 13 shutouts and an appearance in the ACC Championship. It was also fun to watch our volleyball program experience tremendous growth as they made their second-consecutive postseason appearance in the NIVC, advancing to the Great 8 to conclude the season. The future for both programs looks incredibly bright!

Across all 21 programs, our student-athletes worked diligently to achieve a record 3.30 GPA for the fall semester, marking 11 consecutive semesters with a GPA of 3.0 or higher. This record performance came on the heels of Clemson ranking first among Power 5 public institutions with a Graduation Success Rate of 97 percent. The Clemson Football program set a new program record at 99 percent, which leads all other Division I programs.

There is so much to be grateful for and excited about as the winter sports season has taken shape with a busy spring semester ahead. A recent highlight among our winter programs was the inaugural Clemson Gymnastics meet victory in a packed Littlejohn Coliseum on January 12th. Over 8,000 4 | ORANGE: THE EXPERIENCE | ISSUE 4 | 2023-24

fans attended to make the environment for the first-event meet electric and unforgettable. The meet took place following the ribbon cutting for the new Women’s Sports Complex, providing first-in-class facilities for women’s lacrosse and gymnastics as well as a state-of-the-art Athletic Recovery Center. As one facility project reaches completion, we are blessed to also see progress on the Jervey Gym renovation as well as the Watt Family Athletic Performance and Wellness Center project. It is phenomenal to witness the impact of your generosity in real-time through these pivotal projects.

With our programs performing at a high-level in competition and in the classroom, there is much to look forward to as we prepare for continued success. It’s hard to believe that we will soon be setting our sights on the upcoming season of Clemson Football with ticket renewals underway. Be on the lookout for more information regarding tickets and parking!

As we all look ahead at the bright future of the Clemson Tigers, we must continue to keep in mind the importance of evolving our priorities to coincide with the changes in the intercollegiate athletics national landscape. Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) continues to be at the forefront of this evolution, and Clemson must continue to be active, engaged, and competitive in this space. When we think about the longterm success of our programs, NIL is a top priority and we ask that each of our members considers going above and beyond in their membership contributions to support this important effort. If you would like to make a contribution in support of NIL or learn more about ways you can engage, be sure to visit 110society.com or call our office at 1-800-CLEMSON. Our team at IPTAY continues to be amazed by your generous investments in our programs, and in the future of the Clemson Tigers. Every contribution elevates the experience of our student-athletes as they compete for championships. Thank you for being a part of our team!

Go Tigers!

DAVIS BABB IPTAY CEO

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LOTTERY-FUNDED SCHOLARSHIPS AND GRANTS HAVE BEEN AWARDED TO CLEMSON UNIVERSITY STUDENTS SINCE 2002.

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S.C. HOPE SCHOLARSHIP

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CLEMSON MEN’S SOCCER 2023 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS HUNGER. DESIRE. LOVE: THE NARRATIVE OF A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP STORY.

BY CARSON RILEY

C

LEMSON MEN'S SOCCER ETCHED ITS NAME IN SPORTS HISTORY WITH a phenomenal 2023 season culminating in its fourth national championship.

“My message to the team is the same every year…if we can live out our core values at a high level in all that we do and can do it with an ‘other-centered, self-sacrificing, humble’ attitude, then anything is possible,” Head Coach Mike Noonan said. “In the evolving world of competitive athletics and society in general, this is a supreme challenge, and I am proud our team was up to it. Very few are.”

The anticipation was palpable as the season kicked off, heralded by the arrival of notable transfers Joran Gerbet, Gael Gibert, Alex Meinhard, and Jackson Wrobel. These transfers, along with seasoned veterans like senior captain Brandon Parrish and forward Ousmane Sylla, infused the team with a blend of experience, talent, and international flavor. Rising stars such as Nathan Richmond, Adam Lundegard, Shawn Smart, and the promising freshmen Pape Mar Boye and Arthur Duquenne fortified the roster, while sophomore Joseph Andema emerged as a standout goalkeeper after taking over the spot in the previous season.

HUNGER The early stages of the season were not without challenges.

A loss in the season opener to UCF served as a wake-up call, exposing the team's need to gel and adapt to the combination of diverse playing styles. The integration of new transfers and freshmen led to a period of adjustment, presenting the Tigers with formidable growing pains.

Over the next couple of matches, the championship team shined by defeating in-state rivals South Carolina 2-0 and Presbyterian College 6-0. They were hungry. However, the second loss of the season came from top-ranked Notre Dame in a heartbreaking 3-2 loss after a red card and injuries. The team was still learning how to gel.

The breakthrough arrived just a few games later, outlined by two matches. One was the hard-fought 3-2 victory over USF that showcased the team's resilience. Brandon Parrish's outstanding goal in this match epitomized the determination and skills defining the season. The trip to Tampa, Florida, proved pivotal in solidifying the team's chemistry, with the Tigers finding their stride and suffering only a single setback against ACC rival Wake Forest in a close 1-0 encounter.

“I thought the pivotal regular season game in this regard was the loss away to Wake Forest. Despite going down a goal, playing with ten men, and Pape Mar being injured early in the match, the team showed resilience and a soul that only champions display. This would prove to be our last loss of the season,” Noonan said.

The loss to Wake Forest served as the catalyst for growth, emphasizing the importance of unity and perseverance. From that point onwards, the Tigers displayed an indomitable spirit, finishing the season undefeated and establishing themselves as one of the highest-scoring teams in the nation, rivaling the prowess of Marshall, who was ranked No. 1 for multiple weeks.

“The first day of preseason, I knew we could contend for ACC and NCAA titles, but it took time for chemistry and leadership to evolve,” Noonan said.

As the regular season concluded, a crucial match against NC State determined the Atlantic Division title. Unfortunately, tying NC State prevented the Tigers from winning the title, but the team swiftly shifted its focus to the upcoming ACC tournament.

DESIRE Entering the ACC tournament as the No. 4 seed, the Tigers earned a first-round bye and the privilege of hosting the quarterfinal and semifinal matches.

ORANGE: THE EXPERIENCE | 7

The quarterfinal clash against Duke built their confidence as they defeated the Blue Devils in a beautiful penalty kick performance of 3(4)-3(1). The game opened with Andema making a strong early save, setting the tone for a competitive match against the eighth-ranked Blue Devils. Clemson took an early lead as Tyler Trimnal found the net, assisted by Sylla and Meinhard. Despite Duke leveling the score at 1-1, Andema's crucial saves kept the Tigers in contention.

In the second half, Duke took a 2-1 lead, but Andema's exceptional saves kept Clemson in the game. Trimnal's header off a corner kick evened the score at 2-2. Andema again had a momentous save against Duke's Nick Pariano in the final minutes, preserving the 2-2 tie and forcing overtime.

The Tigers struck first in overtime as Meinhard capitalized on a Duke yellow card, giving Clemson a 3-2 lead. Despite Duke equalizing at 3-3 with a goal from Ulfur Bjornsson, Clemson's defense held firm, leading to a dramatic penalty shootout.

Sylla, Gerbet, Gibert, and Wrobel represented Clemson in penalty kicks, converting all four shots. Andema's pivotal save on Duke's second penalty kick tilted the favor in Clemson's direction. With Wrobel sealing the 4-1 victory, Clemson advanced to the semifinals, a testament to their desire and skill in high-pressure situations.

The Tigers' dominance was on full display in the semifinals, as they dismantled Louisville with a commanding 5-1 win and secured their spot in the championship match.

The ACC Championship match unfolded as a defensive battle, with the Tigers equalizing in the second half and ultimately triumphing in a dramatic penalty shootout, securing the title with a 1(5)-1(3) victory. The work was not done, and the team set their eye ahead to the NCAA Tournament.

LOVE The triumph in the ACC Championship match set the stage for the NCAA Tournament, where the Tigers earned the No. 9 seed and a first-round bye.

The tournament commenced with a matchup against unseeded Charlotte, marking the beginning of a monumental clean-sheet run. The team swiftly defeated Charlotte in an easy 3-0 win, marking Sylla’s second brace of the season. The team set their sights north, preparing for the matchup against No. 8 New Hampshire.

The theme of the trip to New Hampshire was “embrace the suck,” as all the odds were stacked against the team.

The weather was predicted to be in the 20s, with the playing surface being a turf football field. Untested and unsettled, the team tapped into the mindset of hunger, desire, and love and prevailed in a 1-0 win.

As fans welcomed the Tigers back to Historic Riggs Field, they took on No. 16 Stanford in a revenge match, beating 8 | ORANGE: THE EXPERIENCE | ISSUE 4 | 2023-24

them in a resounding 2-0 win that propelled them to their 10th College Cup Final.

The journey reached its climax in Louisville, where the Tigers faced West Virginia in a tense final. A solitary goal from Smart after an assist from Mohamed Seye secured the victory and paved the way for an all-ACC championship match against Notre Dame.

The game unfolded with Notre Dame's early attempt in the eighth minute, but Andema made a crucial diving stop to keep the Fighting Irish at bay. The Tigers had several cornerkick opportunities in the first half but struggled to find the back of the net until the fifteenth minute when Parrish broke the deadlock with a powerful shot from outside the box.

Despite Notre Dame's efforts to equalize, including hitting the crossbar in the 56th minute, Parrish's save and defensive resilience maintained Clemson's 1-0 lead going into halftime.

The Fighting Irish intensified their offensive pressure in the second half, with Bryce Boneau and KK Baffour coming close but missing their chances.

In the 70th minute, Sylla extended Clemson's lead to 2-0 after receiving a well-executed pass from Meinhard. Notre Dame broke through in the 89th minute with a penalty kick, becoming the first team in the NCAA Tournament to score against the Tigers.

The Fighting Irish proved formidable. However, the team's resilience shined through, securing the 2-1 win and clinching the National Championship title.

Coming away with the trophy was not the only triumph of the season. In January of 2024, Sylla was awarded the MAC Hermann trophy, solidifying that Clemson produces champions and the best athletes in men’s soccer.

“Education is my life’s work and one I am blessed to be able to do at Clemson,” Noonan said. “It is a quality that I hope they will pay forward to others as their lives continue.

However, it is not only me; it is my staff, our support staff, Clemson University, and all the people who touch these young men during their time here. Finally, I give Ousmane and our players credit because, ultimately, the decisions they make for themselves create the most impact. You know what they say…‘It takes a village to make a man.’”

The narrative of the 2023 Clemson Men's Soccer team is one of perseverance, unity, and triumph. Through the highs and lows, the team found its stride at critical junctures, embodying the spirit of hard work and dedication. The journey from early-season challenges to national glory underscores the resilience and character that define champions. The fourtime National Champions have etched their names in history, leaving an indelible mark on the legacy of Clemson Men's Soccer.

ORANGE: THE EXPERIENCE | 9

PAWSITIVE PRESS HIGHLIGHTING CLEMSON’S TOP PERFORMERS IN ATHLETICS

LILLY LIPPEATT Gymnastics | Redshirt Freshman

She competed in three events in gymnastics’ firstever meet, scoring above 9.700 in all three during her collegiate debut. The redshirt freshman scored 9.900 on bars to win, 9.750 on the beam, and 9.825 on the floor. It was the program’s first 9.900 in school history.

AMARI ROBINSON Women's Basketball | Graduate

She scored a career-high 37 points at Syracuse. It was her second time this season scoring 30+ points.

Her career-best 37 came on 14-for-19 shooting from the floor, including one 3-pointer and finishing 8-of9 at the foul line.

HAL HERSHFELT Women’s Soccer | Graduate

The graduate was selected No. 5 overall in the 2024 NWSL Draft by the Washington Spirit. The Spirit also selected Makenna Morris at No. 13 overall.

PHIL MAFAH Football | Junior

He ran for a TaxSlayer Gator Bowl-record four touchdowns, including three in the fourth quarter to earn game MVP honors. He scored touchdowns on four of his 11 carries, finishing with 71 yards, including a 29-yard run.

PJ HALL Men's Basketball | Senior

Posted career highs in points (31) and rebounds (17) and became just the third player since 1987 in program history to post at least 30 points and 15 rebounds in a single game. He joins Hunter Tyson (2022) and Horace Grant (1987).

TAREES RHODEN Track & Field | Senior

At the Clemson Invitational, he set the new program record in the men’s 600 meters, finishing with a time of 1:16.10 and marking a new personal best for himself. He also ran the last leg of the men’s 4x400 relay and helped the team to a 3:07.59 time, the second-fastest time in the nation thus far.

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CHRIS CHANCELLOR

BY TIM BOURRET

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N THE CAREER OF ANY SPORTS INFORMATION DIRECTOR, THERE ARE athletes who you felt deserved more honors than they received.

Chris Chancellor was one of those players for me. He played 53 games for Clemson, 44 as a starter between 2006-09. He made the honorable mention All-ACC but never made one of the top two teams.

Since Chancellor graduated, he has been raking in the honors as a respected detective on the Clemson police force. In November of 2023, he received the Billy Wilkins Law Enforcement Award for displaying excellence in the field and in the courtroom. It is an honor presented yearly by the 13th Judicial Circuit.

He also won the 2023 City of Clemson Employee of the Year Award, an honor presented by the Pickens Country Municipal Association. It is the second time he has won that honor.

“I wanted to be a detective from the time I was a youth,” said Chancellor, who joined the Clemson police department in 2011. “I enjoy interacting with people and helping them. I like to see the smile on people’s faces, especially youth and people you know need your help.”

Chancellor is one of many former Clemson football players who have gone into this line of work. Former Clemson receiver Michael Collins is also on the police force in Clemson. Former Clemson receiver Kevin Youngblood has been in the Secret Service in Washington, D.C. for over 15 years.

Chancellor has been protecting the city of Clemson like he protected the Clemson secondary as a player. Over his career, he had nine interceptions and one fumble recovery for 10 career takeaways. Clemson was 9-0 in games he had an interception for a fumble recovery.

Three of those nine interceptions took place in games vs. South Carolina, one in the 2007 Clemson victory in Columbia and two in the 2008 win at Clemson.

I asked him about his favorite memories as a Tiger football player and his first recollection was the interception at South Carolina in 2007.

“It was the first play of the game and Blake Mitchell threw a long pass downfield for Kenny McKinley and I intercepted,” said Chancellor. It was a big play early in Clemson’s 23-21 victory.

The next year, Chancellor had two interceptions against the Gamecocks, the only game of his career he had two in the same game.

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“The first interception was on another deep ball for Kenny McKinley and I was able to leap and make the play.”

If you watch the play on YouTube today, the broadcaster calling the game credited the interception to Kavell Connor, who confused Connor’s #33 with Chancellor’s #38. It was another example of Chancellor not getting the credit he deserved.

Chancellor’s second interception of the game came in a Cover 2 defense. “I did my Prime Time dance after that one,” said Chancellor with a laugh.

Chancellor had been given the nickname Prime Time during his high school career at Edison High in Miami as a shutdown corner, the same nickname Deion Sanders had as a shutdown corner during that era in the NFL. “I kept the nickname when I came to Clemson, but it was shortened to just P.T.” He is still called that by his friends in the Clemson community and former Tiger teammates.

That performance against South Carolina was very important in the 31-14 Clemson victory that was a difference maker in then-interim Head Coach Dabo Swinney getting the interim word removed from his title the Monday after the game.

Chancellor went on to have an outstanding senior year under coach Swinney in 2009 when he started all 14 games and had 41 tackles on the first Clemson team to win the ACC’s Atlantic Division.

Chancellor’s top memory that year was the 40-37 overtime victory at eighth-ranked Miami, a game that had a record nine lead changes.

“That was a great game and one I will always remember because I wore #6 instead of #38 to honor Jasper Howard, a UCONN player who was my high school teammate. He had been killed earlier in the season.”

Chancellor continues to be involved in football. This past year he was the defensive backs coach for the state champion Daniel High School football team. One of the young players on the team is his son P.J. (which stands for Prime Junior).

“It was a great experience this year at Daniel. It is a great program. I coached in the youth league for seven years and I coached some of these players when they were kids. It is rewarding to see them grow.”

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BEYOND THE GAME

MATT PITTS

MEN'S T ENNIS | R ED SHIR T JUNIOR | GR EER , S .C.

BY CARSON RILEY PHOTO BY AUTUMN FROITLAND

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN PLAYING TENNIS? MP: I started when I was ten, so it’s been about eleven years, so I have been playing for a pretty long time.

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO COME TO CLEMSON? MP: I have been a fan for what feels like forever. I have been coming to football games since I was two years old. Both of my parents went here, my dad played tennis here and my older brother played here so this was always the school I wanted to end up attending.

THERE IS A PITTS FAMILY LEGACY IN THE TENNIS PROGRAM HERE AT CLEMSON, BOTH YOUR FATHER AND BROTHER PLAYED HERE SO HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE ABLE TO CONTINUE THAT LEGACY IN THIS PROGRAM? MP: It’s pretty special. I’ve played in doubles matches with my older brother and my younger brother will be here next fall so it will be fun to be able to run it with him. It’s just special and is a cool connection for my family.

WHAT IS SOMETHING THAT SOMEONE WOULD NOT KNOW ABOUT TENNIS? MP: College tennis is very different from country club style tennis or clinics, it’s high-energy and high intensity when most people might think it’s boring and low-energy.

WHO IS THE FUNNIEST PERSON ON THE TEAM? MP: I would have to say Marko Mesarovic, he is very unintentionally funny.

MOST FAMOUS CONTACT IN YOUR PHONE? MP: Ben Shelton, he is currently 16th in the world right now. (ATP rankings) WHAT IS YOUR GO-TO KARAOKE SONG? MP: I am not a karaoke singer but if I had to pick one, I would do “More Than My Hometown” by Morgan Wallen.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MEAL? MP: If I’m at home, my dad loves to cook on the grill, so I would say home-grilled burgers.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BEST MOMENT SO FAR SINCE COMING TO CLEMSON? MP: I’ve just met a lot of great people, in other sports teams and outside of sports so my favorite part has probably been just being able to make really cool connections.

WHAT IS SOMETHING WE MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT COACH WAGNER? MP: He’s got a great sense of humor, sometimes it takes a little bit to get it out of him. When you find the things he likes, he is funny, and he is also a really good golfer too.

HOW HAS BEING A STUDENT-ATHLETE IMPACTED YOUR LIFE? MP: It’s provided me with a lot of opportunities. I want to go into the field of medicine so I have been able to meet the trainers and those who have been able to help me connect with the doctors I have shadowed. It’s definitely helped me make connections I wouldn't have or wouldn’t have been as accessible.

WHAT IS YOUR DREAM AFTER COLLEGE? MP: I want to be a doctor, I want to be in sports medicine, so possibly dealing with teams like ours, being a team physician at a university. Before I do that, I want to travel a little bit.

I’ve never left the country so that is definitely on the bucket list.

ADVICE FOR SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO PLAY TENNIS AT THE COLLEGIATE LEVEL? MP: Just find a good group to practice with and do the right things, even if they don’t pay off right away. There is a lot of delayed gratification in tennis and just sports in general so just keep your head down, do the work and stay humble.

ORANGE: THE EXPERIENCE | 15

THIS MOMENT IN

HISTORY On December 1, 1973, Littlejohn Legend Tree Rollins played in his first career game at Clemson. He nearly produced a triple-double against St. John’s – posting 22 points, 20 rebounds and nine blocked shots in a 68-58 win.

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ORANGE: THE EXPERIENCE | 17

FULLY FOCUSED

JACOB BRIDGEMAN HAS EXCELLED AT EVERY STOP OF HIS GOLF CAREER. EVEN WHEN SOME ADVERSITY STRIKES, HE OVERCOMES IT AND KEEPS PUSHING TOWARD EXCELLENCE.

BY BEN WINTERROWD

J

ACOB BRIDGEMAN GREW UP IN INMAN, S.C., A 30-MINUTE DRIVE southeast of Greenville and just 68 miles from the Larry Penley Golf Clubhouse on the campus of Clemson University. Since he was five years old, Jacob has had a golf club in his hands. His dad, Tim, took him golfing at a young age, and the sport was instilled in him.

When Jacob was seven, he participated in a First Tee program at the Creek Golf Club in Spartanburg. He started at a Bogey Level and progressed through Par, Birdie, and Eagle to graduate.

“I did it once a week and I looked forward to it every week.

I played golf with my dad when I was five or six, but when I got to the age where I could go to that every week, it sparked my love.”

The same program hosted tournaments across Spartanburg and Greenville County on Mondays throughout the summer.

Jacob remembers playing eight or nine Mondays in a row. He was playing with eight- and nine-year-olds when he was only seven. He played in that until he was 14.

While Jacob played other sports as a kid, only golf seemed to fit him perfectly.

“I did basketball when I was little, soccer a little bit and then I went to baseball. I played baseball and golf at the same time.”

However, the golf swing was affecting the baseball swing, and the baseball swing was affecting the golf swing. “I was swinging under every pitch. I was almost hitting the ground,” Jacob laughed.

He and his parents decided he could play both for fun, but if he wanted to take one seriously, he needed to make that decision.

“I loved playing baseball, but it made me mad when my teammates messed up. I wanted to do everything myself. I loved playing it but hated practicing it. I could practice golf for hours, and so I picked that.”

He dreamed of playing professional golf, and like most kids, he gravitated toward Tiger Woods. However, it was a local professional that drew most of his interest.

“Dustin Johnson. He had the coolest demeanor when he would walk around, unfazed about birdies or bogeys. He had this chill personality in interviews, and he was a southern guy from South Carolina.”

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All these factors led Jacob to advance his golf game from middle school into high school, and while he had won a few smaller events, his first big win came in by the South Carolina Junior Golf Association. They hosted roughly seven majors during the summer, and Jacob won his first in 2016 as a high school sophomore at the Jimmy Self in Greenwood, S.C. “That was also the first tournament that [Clemson Head] Coach [Larry] Penley watched me play. I won that by a couple of strokes and played well.”

“I didn’t know he would be there, but I saw him and obviously knew who he was. I’ve never been one to react to pressure or nerves or anything like that. I knew the importance of him being there, though I’ve always responded to big situations well.”

Jacob responded by wanting to show Coach Penley something good, and it ended up being his first win.

Jacob had obvious talent, and Coach Penley and other college coaches had noticed. Current Clemson Head Coach Jordan Byrd came to watch Jacob at his next tournament, and he won again.

By the end of that 2016 summer, he had won the Junior Azalea in Charleston. When he returned home, he was planning a visit to South Carolina.

“I never really liked South Carolina, [I’ve] always been a Clemson fan, but they were recruiting me so I figured I would go check it out. It’s almost like Coach Penley knew I was planning that and didn’t want me to go. He called me the night we were planning it and offered me a spot. I committed on the spot,” said Bridgeman, snapping his finger to show how quickly he committed to the Tigers.

“I always wanted to go to Clemson and knew that’s where I belonged. Once I got my chance, I was going to take it.”

Jacob has always been someone who excelled at anything he did once he was comfortable. His freshman year at Clemson was anything but comfortable.

“I was living on my own, trying to fit into a golf team with guys that were four years older than I, while I was majoring in math and taking hard classes. I had study hall for 10 hours a week and I didn’t know how to balance everything, and that started to affect my golf.”

Jacob strung together some 30th and 40th place finishes against better competition than high school. But halfway through freshman year, he was struggling in school which was

new to him. He had all “A’s” in high school and finished third in his class. He decided to change his major from math to business to allow more time to focus on golf.

“I didn’t play great freshman year, but I learned how to become a college student, a teammate, and how to fit in. I met some of my best friends during my freshman year. Once sophomore year came, I felt a lot more comfortable. I knew campus, I knew what and how I wanted to practice, and I knew how to spend my time on the road to keep up with schoolwork.”

“I made mistakes and learned my freshman year, but it set up my path to become a good golfer and be successful in the future.”

Jacob won a tournament his sophomore year, but then COVID struck and ended his campaign early.

“I started junior year ranked No. 10 in the PGA Tour U rankings and I knew I was better than that, but I hadn’t been able to show it because COVID shut everything down and other leagues were playing tournaments and players were gaining points.”

When he’s mad, he tends to play well. He didn’t like his ranking and used it as motivation.

“I won my first two tournaments and almost won a third my junior year and climbed up the rankings and when senior year came, I loaded my up hard classes in the fall in preparation for the spring.”

With such a heavy workload in the fall, he wasn’t playing up to his standard, and Coach Byrd checked in on him. Jacob was confident he would get through a tough semester of school and when spring hit, he would be ready.

“I told everybody that I would be ready. Just wait, just wait.

I’ll be ready.”

Jacob started off No. 14 in the PGA Tour U rankings in the spring. It became a chase for Jacob.

“I’ve always been good when I’m behind, chasing a leader.

I climbed all the way back and almost caught No. 1.”

Spoiler alert. He was ready. And he almost did.

Jacob became the fifth Clemson golfer to be named the ACC’s top golfer. He put together a remarkable season with a 70.43 stroke average, 15 rounds in the 60s, 18 rounds under-par, and six top-10 finishes in nine events. He finished in the top four in each of his last five tournaments, including the ACC Championship, the longest such streak by a Clemson golfer since D.J. Trahan had six-straight top-four finishes in 2001-02, the year he was also named ACC Golfer of the Year.

Included in Jacob’s streak were two wins. He won the Linger Longer Invitational at Great Waters Course, and then won the ACC Championship at Shark’s Tooth. He won the Linger Longer by a six-shot margin, tied for the largest margin of victory in Clemson history, then won the ACC Tournament in a playoff that lasted two holes against defending champion Peter Fountain of North Carolina.

Jacob was also named to the All-ACC team for the third time in his career. The only year he was not on the All-ACC team in his four years at Clemson was 2020 when no team was chosen due to the COVID-19 canceled season. He earned his second consecutive ACC Student-Athlete of the Year award as well.

He is ranked second in Clemson history in career stroke average at 70.74 and is first in rounds in the 60s with 50.

He has five individual victories, tied for the Clemson career record with Trahan and Chris Patton.

Jacob finished No. 2 in the PGA Tour U rankings and earned status for the rest of the season on the Korn Ferry Tour.

“That first year when I got out of school and had Korn Ferry status, it was similar to my freshman year in college. It was a restart again. I started at the bottom and didn’t know what I was doing. I wasn’t comfortable,” he recalled. “I was trying to figure out how to travel by myself. I had to set up all these accounts, hotels, and airlines. I got a credit card and I had to pay stuff off right away because my limit wasn’t high enough.

I was trying to find people that I trusted to be a part of my team. It was the most stressful part of my life, and it wasn’t the golf. It was the administrative part outside of it.”

Jacob endured some grueling weeks where he didn’t have much fun. He didn’t play great, but as he said, his mind was off the course.

“That’s been my thing my whole career. When I’m focused, I do a lot better than when my mind is elsewhere. I knew if I could guarantee a full season [heading into 2023], I’d be fine. I’m good enough to play my way through [to qualify for a PGA Tour card].”

Jacob got in three of his first four starts in 2023, including a top 10 in his fifth event, and was cleared for the whole year.

From that point, he played his best golf.

“I started to rack up weeks and earn points. I got inside the top 30 faster than I thought, and I told myself I needed to hold on, and I lost some of that chasing mindset that I had in college. I played almost too safe, and I started to get passed.”

“I made some adjustments and pushed further. That turned into two-fourths and a fifth and a good amount of top 10s in the latter half of the year.”

His rise to earning his PGA Tour card ended up being almost anti-climactic because he knew he had a great shot but he hadn’t heard anything heading into his final event of the season.

“It was weird because I didn’t have that exact moment of not having my card, to earn it. No one really said anything and no one from The Tour would give confirmation because they can’t. I found out later after the Nashville event that it was basically a 99.9% chance of me earning my card.”

His last event on Korn Ferry came on the same course as his last collegiate event, the Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio. He had the mindset of push, push, push. Once he made the cut, he was informed of his status.

He was going to the PGA Tour for the 2024 season, and he can’t wait to get going as a rookie.

“Pro golf is pro golf. I expect to do well, but I’m not going to be super stressed if I don’t have great weeks every week. I just want to get going faster than I did on Korn Ferry. Hit the ground running and play well early.”

If Jacob continues to heed the advice he gives his younger self growing in the game of golf, the sky is the limit for him.

“Just have fun. I love to play golf and play it with my friends. I enjoy the game, and it’s not just a job. Have fun and never think of it as work. You’re not clocking in; you’re going to have fun.”

ORANGE: THE EXPERIENCE | 19

GOLF NOW, MED SCHOOL LATER

THIS INTERNATIONAL TIGER LEAVES CLEMSON AS THE SCHOOL’S FIRST FEMALE GRADUATE TO EARN HER LPGA TOUR CARD. SHE ALREADY HAS A PLAN FOR WHAT COMES AFTER THAT.

BY RILEY MORNINGSTAR

A

S EXHILARATING AS 2023 WAS FOR SAVANNAH GREWAL, 2024 promises to be even more spectacular. That’s saying something, as last year was filled with a laundry list of achievements.

Consider the following: Grewal capped her four-and-a-halfyear career on the Clemson Women’s Golf Team by being part of the group that won the program’s first ACC title in its 10year history. She earned co-medalist honors through her firstplace finish at the 2023 Cougar Classic at the Yeamans Hall Club in Charleston.

She leaves school having set 32 records in her career, including nine birdies in a round at that Cougar Classic, 115 birdies in a season (2022-23), five eagles in a season (202223), and the low round record of 63 strokes at the NCAA Pullman Regional in Washington in 2023.

Oh, and Grewal earned her LPGA Tour card in December to become the first Clemson graduate in history to do so.

“I always try to represent the Paw proudly in the best way possible,” Grewal said. “I hope that this is just the beginning and that many Clemson Women’s Golf graduates will follow.

I wouldn’t be here without all the staff at Clemson, so it’s an honor to represent Clemson on the LPGA Tour.”

Her first Tour event in the LPGA Drive On Championship in Bradenton, Fla., on Jan. 25-28. Grewal will spend February sharpening her game in preparation for three events in March.

“Savannah has been such an integral part of our program in the four and a half years she spent here,” Head Coach Kelley Hester said. “She has helped us define the culture here and is absolutely leaving Clemson after making a huge impact on us, on her teammates, and on the school. From the time she arrived on campus until now, her game has improved, as well as her off-the-course drive. Savannah has a heart for golf and for her teammates and it shows and will be part of her Clemson legacy.”

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Aside from all the numerous honors and recognitions she recorded, the Canadian-born golfer is proudest of the lifelong relationships she built at Clemson. Grewal graduated with an undergraduate degree in pre-med studies and is actively studying for the MCAT to become a cardiologist.

“Coming into college and being an international student, you’re kind of scared and a little nervous. It’s a different country and far from home. It’s not an easy drive to go home for the weekend,” Grewal said. “I don’t think I ever went home unless it was winter break or the summer. The bonds I built with my teammates, I think they’re going to be friends for the rest of my life and are people I cherish.

“Our coaches, too, because they’ve gotten to know me as a person outside of golf as well, which made it so much more special being here, and the atmosphere makes it feel like family.”

FROM ONTARIO TO TIGERTOWN Clemson is hundreds of miles from Grewal’s home in Mississauga, Ontario. It’s natural to wonder how she matriculated to the Upstate college town, but the story is straightforward.

She was beginning to be recruited by Coach Hester and other colleges across the country in 2017 and when Grewal happened to be training in Florida that spring. Grewal was encouraged to swing into town for an unofficial visit, which happened to be the same weekend as the football team’s spring game.

“To see the atmosphere and everyone coming together was just mind-blowing,” she said. “Clemson stuck out because of the family atmosphere and I told my grandpa that this was where I wanted to be the moment I left campus.”

Home was certainly far away, but it helped to have a great uncle in Greenville. Grewal pointed to her most trying time in college was in 2020 when a global pandemic forced her to return to Canada, far away from her teammates and coaches.

It wasn’t as if she could hop in the car, drive 90 minutes, and meet with a few of them to get some work in.

“We were actually at a golf tournament when everything got shut down,” Grewal said. “We were told we would be online, so I went home for spring break. I went to Canada, and I didn’t come back to Clemson until January 2021. That was tough.

“It was nice to spend some time with my family and I wouldn’t have had that opportunity otherwise, but it was crazy. I went from being on campus and a normal college student to being at home, really far away.”

A heart condition Grewal was diagnosed with when she was 17 triggered her to undergo surgery in November 2020.

Overcoming supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) is the primary reason she wants to become a cardiologist.

“I’ve always been passionate about helping people, and I felt like golf was my dream career. I felt like I needed to have something after golf, especially as a woman,” Grewal said. “I felt like my career might not be as long if I wanted to have a family because I feel like the time when I do have kids, I’d want to maybe step away from the game and focus on that.

Medicine was my way of seeing that I could help people.”

The condition where the heart suddenly beats faster than usual would only flare up while on the golf course. Grewal would step up to the tee and swing. Then, her vision would go black.

Her heart rapidly pounded up to 230 beats per minute.

Grewal knew it wasn’t a severe case of the yips. She’s cool on the golf course, which made the ordeal so frightening.

“It was ridiculously high,” Grewal said of her heart rate.

“No one knew what it was for the longest time, and I wore a bunch of monitors, but I couldn’t swing in them. For a while, they thought it might be anxiety, but I’m relatively calm on the golf course. That was ruled out. My dad bought a handheld monitor and we were able to catch it on that.”

REMINISCING, AND LOOKING FORWARD Grewal has recovered smoothly after the surgery forced a week of bed rest. She’s sharper than ever on the course.

After capping her senior season with an ACC title and NCAA Regional appearance, Grewal had a decision to make.

She could return to play for a fifth year and work towards a major in French or pursue the professional route and enter the Q-Series. That provides amateur golfers a six-round final stage of qualifying school to earn full Tour status.

“It was a bittersweet decision,” Grewal said.

“It was ultimately her decision,” said Hester, “but we knew that if she made it to the third stage, there’s no guarantees you get back there. So go for it.”

Unsurprisingly, she excelled late last year in this new journey. Grewal finished first at Stage-I in California out of 310 golfers. She followed that with a sixth-place finish at Stage-II and ultimately recorded a 10th-place finish in Mobile Ala., to earn full LPGA status in December 2023.

“It means a lot to achieve this. I’ve been working towards this moment since I was 8 years old, so for it to finally be here is a little surreal,” Grewal said. “The job isn’t done yet, though. I’m excited to start this new chapter.”

Grewal will continue to live minutes from campus through May and now spends her days practicing in the Steve and Margaret Bond Golf Practice Facility and on the Walker Sr. Golf Course.

There are plenty of memories Grewal will reminisce on over the next few months as she prepares to leave town for good. There’s that unshakable haze of jetlag after a 17-hour travel day for the NCAA Regionals in Washington State, accompanied by studying and schoolwork on the plane. The euphoria of delivering the program’s first conference title in women’s golf.

But the simple moments of joy as a Tiger will surely rush back into Grewal’s mind the moment she wraps a winning round as a professional.

Players and coaches frequently went out for ice cream after tournaments to relax and celebrate one another with a cold dessert.

Now, Grewal will go out alone. But she and her former team will undoubtedly continue that tradition as they root for one another from afar.

ORANGE: THE EXPERIENCE | 21

FROM THE

BROADCAST BOOTH

BY DON MUNSON

I

HOPE YOU WERE IN LITTLEJOHN COLISEUM WHEN THE INAUGURAL gymnastics meet happened for our newly minted sport.

Gymnastics became the 21st varsity sport for Clemson Athletics when it was announced in June of 2021. Head Coach Amy Smith who was hired in April of 2022 and her staff and student-athletes produced quite an event on January 12th for the program’s debut. Like every other sports debut in recent years here at Clemson, the atmosphere was outstanding!

Thanks to you, the buy-in and support of this new endeavor were envied by those watching collegiate women’s gymnastics around the country. Clemson fans bought more than 2,900 season tickets before the meet which is number six nationally.

Starting a brand-new athletic program is something that Clemson has excelled in over the last several years. When softball came to campus with the announcement of the program in 2017, Clemson faithful flocked to McWhorter Stadium for the first contest in 2020. They have been filling every seat ever since. Women’s Lacrosse was announced in June of 2021, by then Athletic Director Dan Radakovich.

When the first contest was played on February 11, 2023, over 1,200 fans showed up at Historic Riggs Field. Starting up a program is no easy task. The key is finding the right person for the job. In my mind, Amy Smith was the perfect fit to be the first head coach for Clemson Gymnastics.

Coach Smith has known success all through her career in gymnastics. As a student-athlete, she excelled in her days at both Oklahoma and UCLA. In 1994, her freshman year in Norman, Oklahoma, she was the Big Eight Conference

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vault champion. That team competed in the postseason in the NIT where Smith earned the top spot in both the floor and the vault. From Oklahoma, she transferred to UCLA. In 1995 she was First Team All-American in the floor exercise.

In 1996 she was named a team co-captain for the Bruins and helped lead that squad to a runner-up finish in the National Championship. In 1997, runner-up would not be good enough as once again as a co-captain, she helped to lead the team to a National Championship. Smith was First Team All-America in both the floor and vault.

Amy Smith started her coaching career as a graduate assistant at UCLA. Then she continued her climb up the coaching ladder with stops at Kentucky, Florida, Missouri, back to UCLA, North Carolina, and NC State. In 2017 she got her first head coaching job at Utah State. By 2021 she had built Utah State into a top 25 program and coached the team to the Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference Championship in 2022 and another Top 25 finish.

It is only just recently that the gymnastics team has moved into their practice facility. For more than a year Smith has had to train her team at various venues around the ClemsonAnderson-Easley area. I was there with my wife and daughter to watch the beginning of Clemson Gymnastics. Our family has season tickets and will be watching with excitement to see what Amy Smith, her staff, and the 18 student-athletes set as the building block for this program in year one. I hope you will be there to witness Clemson's athletic history as well.

All God’s children say, “Go Tigers!”

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CLEMSON WOMEN’S SOCCER:

HISTORY IN THE MAKING IN THE 2023 SEASON, THE CLEMSON WOMEN’S SOCCER TEAM MADE ITS MARK ON HISTORY AS IT ADVANCED TO THE PROGRAM'S FIRST COLLEGE CUP.

BY AUTUMN FROITLAND

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W

HEN TAKING OVER CLEMSON’S WOMEN’S SOCCER PROGRAM IN 2010, head coach Eddie Radwanski knew that he could help the team create history. 13 seasons later, Radwanski led the Tigers to where they have never been before, the College Cup. There is no denying that fans had high hopes and expectations for the 2023 season as the program brought back a handful of influential players and added some impressive new additions to both the roster and the coaching staff.

Alongside Radwanski, associate head coach Jeff Robbins and assistant coach Siri Mullinix entered their 13th season at Clemson. The power trio welcomed a new asset to their leadership as Radwanski announced the hiring of assistant coach, Allison Wetherington.

Wetherington was a four-year All-WCC selection at the University of Portland, earning WCC Freshman of the Year honors in 2013. She led the team in assists twice and was named Second Team All-Region as a senior in 2017.

Wetherington spent one year in the NWSL with the Houston Dash and coached at Concorde Fire in Atlanta before joining the Tigers. Wetherington also spent time with the U18, U20, and U23 US National Teams.

As the Tigers welcomed a fresh face to the coaching staff, the team also celebrated the return of four players whose impact is felt both on and off the field. Entering their fifth season on the pitch for the Tigers, Hal Hershfelt, Caroline Conti, Harper White, and Sami Meredith knew they had a job to finish in the 2023 season. The 2022 season did not end the way they had hoped, as Clemson was knocked out of the first round of the NCAA Tournament, but the four upperclassmen were not satisfied with that ending. They set out on a mission, they were going to go to the College Cup, and with the help of the returners and the star-studded freshman, they found a way to get there.

Clemson opened the 2023 season by hosting in-state rival South Carolina at Historic Riggs Field. The Tigers were ranked No. 25 in the preseason poll and the Gamecocks entered the

match as the No. 12, but the Tigers didn’t let anything past them. After earning a 0-0 draw against South Carolina, not only did people see the resiliency the Tigers held but they also witnessed the first of many shutouts from starting goalkeeper Halle Mackiewicz.

Following the match against South Carolina, the Tigers earned three shutouts in a row as they defeated GardnerWebb, Utah Valley, and Utah. Leaving the three teams scoreless, Mackiewicz had four clean sheets on the season as she started to lead the nation in shutouts. By their fourth match, Clemson had scored 12 goals against their opponents, all while allowing none. Their success continued in the non-conference portion of their schedule as they earned wins against Furman, Western Carolina, and top-10-ranked Arkansas. The Tigers ended non-conference play against Georgia, as they secured a second-half comeback to earn a 1-1 draw against the Bulldogs. As they prepared to face off against conference opponents, they wrapped up the first half of their season, unbeaten.

In their first conference match of the season, the Tigers played host to top-ranked Florida State, who served them their first loss of the season. However, after that match, Clemson finished out the regular season with seven wins and only two losses. The 2023 campaign was already proving to be one of the best for the Tigers, and their season was not over yet as they moved their focus to the ACC Championship.

In the first round of the ACC Championship, No. 3 seed Clemson played host to No. 6 seed Wake Forest as the winner would advance to the semifinals and take on No. 2 seed Notre Dame. After taking down the Demon Deacons 2-0, the Tigers secured their spot in the semifinals and Mackiewicz earned a record-breaking shutout. With her 13th clean sheet of the season, the goalkeeper set a new all-time record for singleseason shutouts as the senior made history and placed her name in the record book.

The Tigers faced The Fighting Irish in the semifinals and defeated Notre Dame 3-2, earning them a place in the ACC ORANGE: THE EXPERIENCE | 25

Championship game for the first time since 2002. Clemson went on to face off against familiar-foe, Florida State in the championship match. The Seminoles defeated the Tigers 2-1, as the top-seeded team put an end to Clemson’s ACC run. However, the Tigers were not done yet. With a chip on their shoulder and a mission to make it to the College Cup, the Tigers were ready to continue their postseason run in the NCAA Tournament.

For the 10th consecutive season, Clemson earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament but this time they were awarded a No. 1 seed. The Tigers were one of four teams to secure No. 1 seeds in the 64-team bracket, as they joined Florida State, BYU, and UCLA who each earned the top seed in their portion of the bracket. This was Clemson’s highest seeding since the 2000 team earned the No. 3 overall seed in the previous bracket format, which included 48 teams.

The mission to make it to their first-ever College Cup was in sight as the Tigers were set to host the first four rounds of the tournament. In the first round, Clemson hosted Radford, who the Tigers shutout 2-0. Senior and leading scorer for Clemson, Makenna Morris, and graduate Caroline Conti netted the two goals for the Tigers and sophomore goalkeeper Addy Holgorsen secured the team’s 14th clean sheet of the year. Advancing to the next round, the Tigers hosted Columbia and defeated them 2-1.

In the third round, Clemson hosted Georgia who they previously tied against in the regular season. In a back-andforth battle between the teams, the Bulldogs were the first to put one in as they scored in the final seven minutes of the match. With the clock running out, it looked as though Georgia was going to come away with the win as the Tigers had limited time and opportunities to tie it up. With three minutes left, senior and two-time All-American Megan Bornkamp knocked 26 | ORANGE: THE EXPERIENCE | ISSUE 4 | 2023-24

one in to shift the momentum and give Clemson the chance to advance by winning in overtime/penalty kicks.

After 10 minutes of overtime, the score remained and the two teams prepared for penalty kicks. Mackiewicz took her place in front of the net, as she would be the one to help seal the victory for the Tigers in PK’s. In a thrilling 5-3 victory, Clemson officially advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2020.

In their final match at Historic Riggs Field, the Tigers had the opportunity to create an everlasting impact and rewrite history as the program had never had a team advance past the Elite Eight and secure a place in the College Cup. Clemson hosted No. 2 seed, Penn State and the mission they had all season was on the tip of their fingertips.

On November 25, 2023, the Clemson Women’s Soccer team made history as they defeated Penn State 2-1 at Historic Riggs Field and punched their ticket to the 2023 College Cup, becoming the first team in the program's history to do so. The team joined the 2004 and 2005 Women’s Tennis teams as the only women’s programs to advance to a national semifinal in school history. In front of 1,472 fans, the Tigers put up a new banner at Riggs Field as the “1 College Cup Appearance” is now hung for all to see.

At the College Cup, Clemson faced No. 1 seed Florida State for the third time in the 2023 season and were unable to come away with the win but that did not erase the remarkable history that the team was able to create in one of their best seasons with their best group of players. The four upperclassmen who decided to take that fifth year were able to walk away knowing that they helped create a new future and new history for Clemson Women’s Soccer. As those graduates and seniors put away their Tiger uniforms, the team will welcome a new group of Tigers to the team as the 2023 season was only the start of the incredible history this team will create.

ORANGE: THE EXPERIENCE | 27

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON RICHIE RICHMOND LIFTED THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHY IN 1987, AND 36 YEARS LATER, HIS SON NATHAN HAS NOW DONE THE SAME.

BY ANDREW CAMERON

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W

INNING A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP IN COLLEGE SPORTS IS ONE OF the greatest desires a college athlete can have and one of the greatest feats a collegiate team can accomplish.

While symbolizing excellence at the sport, it is often won by a team that has faced measurable adversity throughout their season. Winning a national championship is rare, and it is even more rare to win at the same university as your father.

Following the final whistle on that Monday night in December 2023, Nathan Richmond achieved this, along with the help of his fellow teammates.

On December 11, 2023, the Clemson Men’s Soccer team won its fourth national championship; its second in as many years, and second under Head Coach Mike Noonan.

Following a season-opening loss to UCF and starting 1-2 in ACC play, things were not looking good for the Tigers.

However, sophomore Nathan Richmond, a key asset to the Tiger attacking front, knew hope was not lost.

“We started the season off slow, but we all knew that we had what it took to do well. Continuing to play together and figure out how to play with each other took a few games. Once that happened, we were locked in.”

“I would say the Wake Forest game was the turning point for us. After we lost that game, everyone was really down and there was a strong feeling of defeat lingering around the locker room. However, Coach Noonan came in the next day and told us he thought we could win the national championship. After

that, we really got things going and put our trust in Coach and his leadership.”

Following that pivotal loss, the Tiger men would not lose another match throughout the rest of the season, going on to finish the remainder of their games with a 4-0-2 record and 3-0-2 record in the ACC. That critical turnaround would propel them to the fourth seed in the ACC Tournament, which they capitalized on by emerging as ACC victors.

Knowing an NCAA Tournament bid was on the horizon, Richmond and his teammates could finally begin to visualize Coach Noonan’s vision for winning a national championship that he talked about in the locker room following their last loss months before. While eventually seeded ninth, they started tournament play with a decided 3-0 victory against Charlotte.

“Playing Charlotte to head off the Tournament was a difficult start, but it wasn’t anything we hadn’t faced before.

Following that, we played Stanford and that was also a tough match, but we played a really solid game and got it done.

New Hampshire was our test, the turf wasn’t great, it was really cold, and they were a good team. We knew that if we could win that game, we would win the whole thing. We did and entered the final four with really high confidence. Once we beat West Virginia, we knew there was no doubt we would finish on top.”

The historic win now ties Coach Noonan with Clemson legend Coach I. M. Ibrahim, the namesake of the Tiger’s home

ORANGE: THE EXPERIENCE | 29

stadium, with two national championships. However, it was also historic for another reason: Richmond now shares the title of national champion with his father Richie Richmond.

Richie was a member of the Clemson Men’s Soccer team that won the 1987 national title and is remembered as the player who scored the game-sealing goal with 41 seconds left in play. No other father-son duo in NCAA soccer history has won a national championship with the same program.

While their championship success is over 30 years apart, their seasons looked surprisingly similar. Richie recounts the 1987 regular season being tough and initially looking as if an NCAA tournament bid, let alone a national championship, was nowhere in sight.

“In 1987, we had a very large freshman class. We also had a fairly large sophomore class and not many juniors, so we were a young team. Overall, our season that year was mediocre. We lost almost all of our ACC matches and then lost in the first round of the inaugural ACC Tournament. At that point, we thought our season was over but when the NCAA Tournament selections came out, we were surprised to find ourselves seeded 23rd out of 24 teams.”

“Being the 23rd seed meant that we had to play every game leading up to the final four on the road. We ended up making it to the final four and the way it worked back then was that the team with the nicest facilities would host. Since our stadium was brand new, we were picked to host, so we ended up winning the championship against San Diego State on our home pitch.”

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When asked about seeing his son, now experiencing the same victory and ensuing feelings of elation that follow, Richie paused, let out a sigh, and answered simply but emotionally, “It was incredible. Sharing that bond of winning the national championship with my teammates is something I’ll have forever. Being able to share that with my son now is phenomenal. It’s awesome!”

Likewise, Richmond let out his response to being asked about raising a trophy for the same national championship with a growing smile, “It’s a proud feeling. I think my dad is proud too. When I got recruited, I remember one of the first texts that Coach Noonan sent me was that if we won a national championship, I could compare rings with my dad.

It’s been really cool to experience that and share that luxury with him.”

“Seeing my parents after the game was a surreal feeling.

I wish I had been able to play the whole game instead of just a few minutes due to my injury but I’m grateful to have even gotten that time in and that my parents could see that.

Seeing them after the final whistle blew meant a lot to both me and them. I know they’re proud because they know how much work I’ve put in to get to this point in life. It was a great moment to share with them.”

Richie is undeniably proud of his son, and Richmond is grateful to hold the title of national champion alongside his father. While their victories were over 30 years apart, their now shared bond is exceedingly special and something they will cherish for the rest of their lives.

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ORANGE: THE EXPERIENCE | 31

GYMNASTICS WINS INAUGURAL MEET! The night of Friday, January 12 marked a historic evening inside Littlejohn Coliseum as the Clemson Gymnastics program began its inaugural season in front of 8,018 fans. The Tigers defeated William & Mary, 196.325-190.050, to vault the program into competitive existence.

PHOTO BY CLEMSON ATHLETICS

ORANGE: THE EXPERIENCE | 33

CONTINUING EXCELLENCE KYLE YOUNG’S STELLAR CAREER AT CLEMSON HAS CONTINUED FROM THE GRIDIRON TO THE ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT.

BY JONATHAN FRANCHI

34 | ORANGE: THE EXPERIENCE | ISSUE 4 | 2023-24

H

AVING THE RIGHT PEOPLE IN PLACE IS IMPORTANT, NO MATTER what job or system. It is what makes the Clemson culture and atmosphere so special. From the coaches and trainers on the staff, to the professors in the classrooms, to the athletes on the teams, Clemson has the right people in place to instill its culture. And it is no different in the Athletic Department with the people working behind the scenes to help the Clemson athletic programs succeed and operate efficiently. One person who is integral to the Clemson Athletic Department is Executive Senior Associate Athletic Director Kyle Young.

Once a standout on the football team for the Tigers, Young is now making a positive impact on Clemson Athletics just like he once did on the gridiron.

To put it simply, Clemson is “home” to Young. A native of Clemson, Young grew up a Tiger fan due to his deep family ties to the school and sports teams, and it was his dream to run down the Hill for the football team or play baseball for the Tigers. Arriving as a freshman in 1997 for the Clemson football team as a center, Young enjoyed an outstanding five-year playing career on and off the field. A three-time first-team Academic All-American and a two-time All-American on the field, Young achieved many awards during his time at Clemson, but humbly credits the staff and teammates at Clemson and his family for his success.

“I know I have been blessed beyond anything I ever deserved with a great family, great friends, great coaches, and a great home. I had a mom and dad who gave me everything I ever needed. They instilled a value in sports, school, and finishing whatever I started. I had a big brother who was my hero and who paved the way for me on the football field.”

With the right values set by his family and a great support system at Clemson, Young was able to thrive in Tiger Town. In Tommy Bowden’s first three years as the Clemson head coach, Young was able to help the team to three straight bowl games, including finishing ranked 14th in the USA Today Poll in 2000. In Young’s last two seasons, he was a finalist for the Dave Rimington Award which recognizes the country’s top center. Among many awards earned by Young, he received the Anson Mount scholarship for college football’s top scholar-athlete and is the only athlete in Clemson history to be a Strength and Conditioning All-American, Academic All-American, and All-American in their sport.

When asked about his favorite memory from his playing days, Young pointed to Thursday nights at Mac’s DriveIn, pool parties, cookouts, Friday night movies, and much more.

“Basically, all the time with my teammates. Being a part of a team is truly special, and when I think back to

my favorite memories, they all swirl around being with my teammates.”

Despite all the recognition and awards, Young’s greatest achievement time over his whole career at Clemson was something much more special and personal to him.

“My greatest achievement was to convince Jamie Watson, a then student-worker in the football recruiting office with Andy Johnston and Jill Wilks, to date and ultimately marry me. Twenty-five years after walking into the recruiting office and asking her on that first date, we have established a loving home, raised four happy and healthy kids, and built a life together I couldn’t have even dreamed of as a kid growing up in the shadows of Death Valley.”

After his playing days were over, the two-time AllAmerican always envisioned himself working in college athletics to help coaches and student-athletes have positive experiences during their time at Clemson. After spending a year in administration at Virginia Tech in 2002-03, Young returned home to Clemson the following year to gain experience on the coaching side, citing it as an opportunity that was too good to pass up.

Young has now worked in the Clemson Athletic Department since 2005 and is in his 11th year as Executive Senior Associate Athletic Director. In his role, the Clemson native has many responsibilities. He oversees the personnel and human resource functions, supervises the soccer teams and baseball team, organizes summer camps, and assists in strategic planning for Clemson Athletics. Having many great experiences himself during his athletic career, Young loves the chance to give back and make an impact on the current Clemson athletes and coaches.

“I get the opportunity to see employees and studentathletes have experiences that will last a lifetime… great accomplishments, including national recognition and national championships.”

When talking about how Clemson stands out compared to other universities, Young said “The people make Clemson all that it is. People who are selfless and servant-oriented have characterized Clemson for over 135 years.” A humble, team-first guy, Young has embodied this quote since the day he stepped foot on campus in 1997 as an important member of the football team and now has carried that mindset over into the Clemson Athletic Department. Now as the Executive Senior Associate Athletic Director, Young has continued his excellence at Clemson. It takes special people to make a special place, and after a storied football career at Clemson on and off the field, Kyle Young is still making a strong impact on Clemson Athletics.

ORANGE: THE EXPERIENCE | 35

A GRAND GATOR BOWL FINALE A FRANTIC FOURTH QUARTER AND A MEMORABLE COMEBACK GAVE CLEMSON A POSTSEASON WIN FOR THE 13TH STRAIGHT SEASON.

BY ROSS TAYLOR

S

ITTING AT 4-4 ON HALLOWEEN, HEAD COACH DABO SWINNEY TOLD HIS 2023 Clemson Tigers they had a decision to make: How were they going to finish?

The same question awaited them in their season finale as they faced an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit. As they did all down the stretch, Clemson overcame adversity to finish strong as Clemson’s dramatic 38-35 comeback victory against Kentucky in the 2023 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl gave Clemson a postseason victory for an FBS-record 13th consecutive season.

Clemson’s five-game winning streak to end the year was the program’s 17th season-ending winning streak of five games or more in 128 seasons and its fourth such season under Dabo Swinney. Clemson’s five-game winning streak will enter 2024 as the nation’s third-longest active winning streak, trailing only Michigan (15) and Arizona (7).

“We talk about it all the time, man,” Swinney said. “The foundation of this program is effort, attitude, and belief — unshakable belief.”

After a relatively unnoteworthy first three quarters that had one media member in the press box authoring a story with the headline “Clemson drops Gator Bowl dud,” both the Tigers and the game at large hit the accelerator. The teams combined for a Clemson bowl-record 42 points in the final 15 minutes, including a school-bowl-record 28 by Clemson.

“That was the craziest fourth quarter I’ve ever played in,” running back Phil Mafah said.

The game did not feature a turnover in the first three quarters, then the teams combined for five — as well as

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five lead changes — in the fourth quarter alone. Early in the frame, Clemson notched takeaways on three consecutive possessions, including takeaways by linebacker Barrett Carter on back-to-back Kentucky plays.

Before the season, Clemson had defended roughly 26,000 plays since a Clemson player had recorded a takeaway on back-to-back plays from scrimmage by an opponent when Brian Dawkins accomplished it against Duke in 1995. With efforts by Khalil Barnes and Carter against South Carolina and Kentucky, respectively, Clemson ended the 2023 season with back-to-back such performances.

Carter’s performance earned him All-Bowl Team honors from the Associated Press and was emblematic of Clemson’s refusal to quit.

“At the end of the day we found a way,” said Swinney, who passed Bobby Bowden with his ACC-record 12th bowl victory.

“That's what these guys have done all year. They decided to continue to believe, to stay together, and keep moving. And now here we are with a five-game winning streak. The credit goes to these players. I’m really, really proud of them. They never quit, a lot of adversity today. This is what we do. This is who we are — we finish.”

Mafah ran for a Gator Bowl-record four touchdowns, including three in the fourth quarter to earn game MVP honors. Quarterback Cade Klubnik completed 30-of-41 passes and led Clemson on the game-winning drive that ended with Mafah’s fourth score with 17 seconds remaining.

The fourth quarter also provided another legacy-cementing opportunity for one of Clemson’s unsung heroes of the latter

part of the season: placekicker Jonathan Weitz. After four seasons as a backup to B.T. Potter from 2019-22, Weitz had moved on from football while finishing his master’s degree and preparing to start a job as a quantitative analyst on the trading desk for Ally Financial in New York City.

After Clemson struggled with placekicking in its first three games, Swinney called Weitz and “pulled him off the beach” in Charleston to return for one more season.

“It’s either gonna be a great story or it’s gonna be terrible,” Swinney famously said in September of Weitz’s return. “It’s not gonna be anything in between.”

Weitz went 3-for-3 on field goals in a rivalry win at South Carolina to end the regular season and followed it with another 3-for-3 performance against another SEC foe in the bowl game. His final kick of his career was his most dramatic, a career-long and Clemson bowl-record-tying 52-yarder that bounced off the crossbar before falling through the uprights.

“It really is just a dream,” Weitz said of the finish to his college career. “I went through that adversity at the beginning [missing a field goal in his first game against Florida State], and here I am at the end, knowing something big was going to happen. I'm so glad I could do it with these guys. I had my ups and downs, and they supported me through it all. It's just special.”

After four lead changes in roughly four minutes, Clemson

found itself trailing by four with 2:34 remaining when Klubnik took charge.

“I think the first thing that I said was, ‘Guys, we’ve been through so much this year,’” Klubnik said. “‘We’ve had to sit in that locker room 4-4. Why quit now? We’ve been through so much. We’ve just won four straight. There’s no reason to quit now. We’re right here in this ballgame. Let’s go win it.’”

Klubnik delivered on his rallying cry. He completed 8-of8 passes for 71 yards, including a critical 16-yard gain to Antonio Williams on 3rd-and-18 that set up a Mafah fourthdown conversion on the subsequent play. Two more Klubnik completions and a three-yard Mafah plunge later, Clemson took the lead for good.

“How about that drive by Cade Klubnik?” ACC Network analyst Tim Hasselbeck said. “Dabo Swinney has talked about, ‘Listen, the kid has got a strong foundation. He’s made of the right stuff.’”

It was a drive that could prove formative for Klubnik as he enters his junior season in 2024.

“That last drive — 8-for-8, 71 yards, game-winning drive — [Cade] will never forget that and neither will anybody else,” Swinney said. “The belief, the confidence, the grit, the heart. Man, great stuff happens when you’ve got all that stuff in place, and a game like that, a win like that, a drive like that will put a lot of wind in your sails.”

ORANGE: THE EXPERIENCE | 37

BASEBALL SEASON PREVIEW AFTER ITS ACC CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON IN 2023, CLEMSON BASEBALL IS LOOKING TO ADVANCE TO OMAHA IN 2024.

BY BRIAN HENNESSY

T

HE 127TH EDITION OF CLEMSON BASEBALL IS COMING OFF THE program’s 16th ACC title in 2023, but it has bigger aspirations to play deep into June 2024. Second-year Head Coach Erik Bakich, who led the Tigers to a 44-19 record and 17-game winning streak late in the season, which culminated in an ACC Tournament title, has the Tigers’ sights set on their first College World Series appearance since 2010.

Under the coaching staff, the program set a record for the highest semester GPA (3.27) in the fall, besting the previous mark of 3.09 set in the fall of 2022.

Tiger players who accounted for 46 percent of the starts in the 2023 season return in 2024. However, the Tigers must replace players who made every start at first base, second base, and shortstop in 2023, including first-team AllAmerican and John Olerud Two-Way Player-of-the-Year Award winner Caden Grice.

The 2024 schedule features 34 home games and 25 games against 2023 NCAA Tournament teams. The season begins Feb. 16 with a three-game home series against Xavier.

Sophomore Jacob Jarrell is the only returning Tiger with experience at catcher. The All-ACC Academic selection totaled five homers and 18 RBIs in 35 games (27 starts) in 2023 as one of the strongest and hardest workers on the team.

Senior Jimmy Obertop, who also has the ability to play in the infield, is a transfer from Michigan who will compete with Jarrell for the starting job. In 134 games with the Wolverines, he hit .266 with 29 homers and 97 RBIs, including 15 homers and 54 RBIs in 2022.

Senior Blake Wright is the only predominant infielder who returns with experience in a Tiger uniform. He was the everyday starter at third base in 2023, and he also has experience at second base. He is a career .281 hitter with 20 homers and 90 RBIs in 116 games.

Redshirt freshman Cooper Blauser, son of former MLB player Jeff Blauser, had a strong summer, when he was a Coastal Plain League All-Star Game selection, and fall. He is a candidate to start at first base in 2024.

Redshirt freshman Nolan Nawrocki is a candidate to start on the left side of the infield in 2024 after his selection as

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a New England Collegiate Baseball League All-Star in the summer.

Two transfers will play a big role on the infield in 2024.

Senior Jacob Hinderleider played four seasons at Davidson, where he hit .273 with 25 homers, 133 RBIs, and 15 steals in 170 games.

Junior Andrew Ciufo is the other infield transfer and joins Hinderleider as a candidates to start at shortstop in 2024.

Ciufo hit .270 with 10 homers and 50 RBIs in 78 games over two active seasons (2021,22) at Georgetown.

Clemson’s top-two returning offensive players return in the outfield in 2024. Sophomore Cam Cannarella burst onto the scene in center field to become the 2023 ACC Freshman-ofthe-Year and a first-team freshman All-American. The No. 1 college prospect for the 2025 draft by Baseball America hit .388 with 72 runs, seven homers, 47 RBIs, a .462 on-base percentage, and 24 steals in 2023 as a First-Team All-ACC selection.

Junior Will Taylor is coming off his first fall season on the diamond after playing his first two falls on the Tiger football team. The left fielder is a career .343 hitter with a .472 onbase percentage in 75 games. He hit .362 with 67 runs and a .489 on-base percentage, fourth highest in the ACC, in 2023.

Senior Alden Mathes is a transfer who played and pitched four seasons at Richmond. He hit .319 with 21 homers, 117 RBIs, and a .408 on-base percentage in 148 games with the Spiders.

The deepest part of the 2024 Tigers is their pitching staff.

Clemson returns pitchers who accounted for 68 percent of the team’s starts and 67 percent of the team’s innings pitched in 2023.

A leading candidate for a spot in the weekend rotation is junior righthander Austin Gordon, who was the only Tiger in the weekend rotation during the entire 2023 season. He is the No. 77 college prospect for the 2024 draft by D1Baseball.

Sophomore Billy Barlow is another third-year righty who has starting experience. Sophomore lefthander Ethan Darden emerged as a reliable weekend starter midway through the 2023 season. He had 45 strikeouts in 55.1 innings pitched over 19 appearances (12 starts).

Tristan Smith is another sophomore lefty who will compete for a spot in the weekend rotation. He is the No. 60 college prospect for the 2024 draft by D1Baseball.

Clemson’s most experienced pitcher is senior righty Nick Clayton. He has been a starter but had his best year out of the bullpen in 2023 thanks to his sidearm delivery. He won the 2023 Stowe Award as the team’s most valuable pitcher, as he was 8-0 with a 3.17 ERA in 48.1 innings pitched over 24 relief appearances.

After battling injury, senior righthander Rob Hughes became one of the team’s top relievers in 2023, when he had a 1.56 ERA in 17.1 innings pitched.

BILLY BARLOW RHP

#30

Sophomore

COOPER BLAUSER

CAM CANNARELLA

ANDREW CIUFO

INF

OF

INF

NICK CLAYTON RHP

#20

Graduate

#6

Graduate

JIMMY OBERTOP C/INF

#11

Graduate

#4

Freshman

ETHAN DARDEN LHP

JACOB HINDERLEIDER INF

Junior righty Reed Garris also emerged as one of the team’s top relievers in 2023. He led the team in ERA (2.12), appearances (27), and opponents’ batting average (.181).

Of Clemson’s 10 new pitchers, two are veteran transfers and will compete immediately for innings. Senior righthander Matthew Marchal is the No. 52 transfer in the nation by D1Baseball after three seasons at Wofford and one at Furman.

He is the son of former Tiger pitcher Doug Marchal.

Junior righty Lucas Mahlstedt also transferred from Wofford, where he was 9-3 in 48 appearances as a sidearm reliever.

#39

Sophomore

JACOB JARRELL C

#9

Sophomore

TRISTAN SMITH LHP

#18

Sophomore

#10

Sophomore

REED GARRIS RHP

#15

Junior

#5

Junior

AUSTIN GORDON RHP

#56

Junior

MATTHEW MARCHAL

ALDEN MATHES

RHP

OF

#36

Graduate

WILL TAYLOR OF

#16

Junior

#17

Graduate

BLAKE WRIGHT INF

#8

Senior

ORANGE: THE EXPERIENCE | 39

SOFTBALL SEASON PREVIEW CLEMSON SOFTBALL IS READY TO KNOCK THE DOOR DOWN IN ITS FIFTH SEASON.

BY VALERIE JOHNSON

T

HE 2024 SPRING SEMESTER IS SURE TO BE A GOOD ONE AS THE Clemson Softball program prepares for its fifth season of action. After ending the 2023 season with 49 wins and its second consecutive Super Regional appearance, the Tigers return a dynamic lineup in the new year that is ready to ‘Knock Down the Door’ in 2024.

The Tigers are coming off a dynamic fourth season in 2023 that led to multiple program and individual accomplishments.

Offensively as a team, Clemson put up 13 team-highs including 488 hits and scoring 371 runs with 350 RBIs. Defensively, Clemson maintained a .980 fielding percentage and turned 31 double plays with a 1.59 combined ERA to keep opponents off balance and will look to carry this momentum into 2024 by returning pitchers Valerie Cagle, Millie Thompson, Brooke McCubbin and Regan Spencer who combined for 392 innings pitched, 318 strikeouts and 19 solo shutouts. Additional key returners include middle infielders Alia Logoleo and Maddie Moore, as well as centerfielder McKenzie Clark and catchers JoJo Hyatt and Aby Vieira.

On the cusp of playing the 200th game in program history – will occur on the season opener on Feb. 8, the Tigers are ready for the best year yet under the leadership of Head Coach John Rittman, Associate Head Coach Kyle Jamieson, and Assistant Coaches Courtney Breault and Jessie Harper. In 2024, Clemson is set to play 52 regular-season games, 27 of which will be played in McWhorter Stadium. With a stacked schedule that includes facing 13 teams that finished at a Regional, three that made a Super Regional, and two that concluded their seasons at the Women’s College World Series, Clemson has positioned itself for another competitive season on the diamond. The season opens on Feb. 8 in Clearwater, Fla., at the NFCA Leadoff Classic before continuing in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico on Feb. 14 at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge.

Valerie Cagle, the reigning USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year and two-time ACC Player of the Year, returns for her final season in the Orange and Regalia to lead the program.

After capturing nearly every top award a collegiate softball player can earn in 2023, including being the Rawlings Gold Glove pitcher and a unanimous First Team All-American, she is poised to continue her dominant .469 average at the plate

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and 1.56 ERA in the circle. Cagle finished her junior campaign in the top 25 of 11 different NCAA Categories and led the ACC in seven. The Yorktown, Va., native threw Clemson’s first perfect game last season against Mercer and followed it with an immaculate inning against Georgia Tech meaning she only needed nine pitches to strike out three batters in a single half-inning. At the plate, Cagle set a program record with 83 hits, including 19 home runs and 15 doubles, to make for the perfect dual threat.

Joining Cagle in the circle are seniors Millie Thompson and Regan Spencer, as well as junior Brooke McCubbin.

Thompson completes Clemson’s ‘1-2 punch’ in the circle as a dominant lefty. She finished with a 1.82 ERA and 14 wins through 92.1 innings of work and racked up 72 strikeouts last season. Spencer, a dynamic relief pitcher for the Tigers, made 18 appearances in 2023 and maintained a 5-0 record with a 1.73 ERA in 32.1 innings of work. McCubbin rounds out the returners with the lowest ERA (1.34) through 73.1 innings and finished with a 5-1 record while limiting opponents to a .162 average at the plate.

Poised and ready for their senior campaigns are Alia Logoleo and McKenzie Clark. Looking to prove how dynamic the two are both at the plate and in the field, they return to the lineup carrying a .296 and .335 average respectively.

Logoleo, an infielder, finished with 51 RBIs, the second-most on the roster last season, with 50 hits. Clark, the starting centerfielder for the past three seasons, tallied 60 hits, including 13 home runs, and scored a team-high 56 runs.

Catcher Jojo Hyatt and outfielder Arielle Oda return for their sixth and final seasons after being the only two players who were members of Team 0 – the team that practiced before the inaugural season in 2020. Hyatt returns after a career-best season last year where she put up a .330 average with 29 hits and 17 RBIs. Oda returns as the only player who has made two SportsCenter Top 10 Plays during her Tiger career for her efforts in the outfield.

Aby Vieira joins Hyatt behind the plate, and Maddie Moore joins Logoleo in the middle infield for their junior seasons.

Vieira finished with a .314 average with 33 hits and 19 RBIs, while Moore posted a .264 average off 46 hits, including 11 home runs, and scored 47 runs while plating 40 RBIs and stealing 15 bases, the second-most on the squad.

Additional returners include sophomore Marena Knowles, who tallied a .269 average in her first season with the Tigers.

Abi Stuart, Jadeyn Ruszkowski, Grace Hiller, and Julia Bomhardt add additional returning depth to the lineup.

During the offseason, the softball staff added experience with transfers Alex Brown (UNC) and Lindsey Garcia (Auburn).

JULIA BOMHARDT OF

#6

VALERIE CAGLE

Graduate

RHP/UTL

JOJO HYATT C

#23

#28

MCKENZIE CLARK

Senior

OF

MARENA KNOWLES

Senior

INF/OF

MADDIE MOORE INF

#72

#00

INF/OF

ABI STUART C/UTL

#13

Junior

#24

Sophomore

INF/OF

Senior

INF/OF

#16

INF

MILLIE THOMPSON #87

Senior

#21

#8

Sophomore

BROOKE MCCUBBIN

Senior

RHP

JADEYN RUSZKOWSKI

Senior

LHP

#7

GRACE HILLER

ALIA LOGOLEO

ARIELLE ODA

Junior

Brown led the Tar Heels the past two seasons at the plate, and Garcia left Auburn sitting fifth all-time in sacrifice flies and seventh in triples.

Additional newcomers to the 2024 squad that will look to help Clemson include freshmen Kennedy Ariail, Rylee Burton, Olivia Duncan, Kylee Johnson, and Julia Knowler.

#2

Junior

REGAN SPENCER

Sophomore

RHP

#19

Senior

ABY VIEIRA C/UTL

#4

Junior

ORANGE: THE EXPERIENCE | 41

MEN'S GOLF SEASON PREVIEW

JORDAN BYRD’S THIRD CLEMSON TEAM IS CERTAINLY MOTIVATED TO REACH THE NATIONAL TOURNAMENT AS THEY LOOK TO THE SPRING OF 2024.

BY TIM BOURRET

T

HE CLEMSON MEN’S GOLF TEAM CAME ONE STROKE SHORT OF qualifying for the NCAA National Tournament last year.

They lost in a playoff against Texas A&M and All-American Sam Bennett at the NCAA Salem Region.

Jordan Byrd’s third Clemson team is certainly motivated to reach the national tournament as they look to the spring of 2024 with eight returning lettermen and four returning starters from the 2022-23 team.

The Tigers posted a 72.59 stroke average as a team in the fall and had three different players record top-10 finishes four times.

Andrew Swanson will be one of the leaders of the 202324 Clemson team. The junior is in his third year with the program, his second year as a starter. The native of Bluffton, S.C. led the squad in stroke average with a 71.39 figure as a sophomore and was named to the Ping All-District team by the Golf Coaches Association.

Swanson was also named Academic All-ACC and was one of two Tigers named an Academic Scholar by the Golf Coaches Association. He showed his capabilities at the 2022 Ka’anapali Classic in Hawaii when he won the event with an 18-under-par 195. The 18-under-par figure is the best in Clemson history for a 54-hole event, as is his 195 total. A native of the same hometown as former Clemson All-American Bryson Nimmer, Swanson has a 71.60 career stroke average entering the spring of 2024.

Jonathan Nielsen is a second-year transfer from CarsonNewman who moved into the Clemson starting lineup in 2022-23. He finished second on the Clemson team in stroke average at 71.87, and he led the team in under-par rounds.

He was named an Academic Scholar by the Golf Coaches Association. Nielsen led the team in rounds at par or better with 19 and his score counted in 29 of 30 team rounds. In the fall of 2023, he was Clemson’s top player with a 70.82 stroke average and posted a pair of top-10 finishes. He finished sixth at the Blessings and eighth at the Golf Club of Georgia.

Before coming to Clemson, Nielsen was a Second Team Division II All-American at Carson-Newman where he was named Male Athlete of the Year for the 2021-22 academic

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year. The native of Denmark had five top 10s and four top-four finishes that year when he was also named all-conference and all-region in leading Carson-Newman to a final No. 9 ranking

by Golfstat.

Kian Rose is in his third year as a starter for the Tigers and is a veteran of 24 tournaments and 71 rounds entering the spring of 2024. The first native of South Africa to play on the Clemson golf team has a 73.01 career stroke average, 11 rounds in the 60s, 23 under-par rounds, and 29 at par or better.

A year ago, Rose was named to the Ping All-District team by the Golf Coaches Association when he had a 72.03 stroke average, third on the team, but he was first in under-par rounds with 15. He had seven tournaments with at least 10 birdies, including a career-best 19 birdies in the NCAA Salem Regional, tied for the most by a Clemson golfer all year.

Sophomore Thomas Higgins is in his second season with the Tigers after being named to the Academic All-ACC team as a freshman. The native of Ireland played in six tournaments, four in the Clemson lineup, and had a 73.61 stroke average for his 18 rounds. He finished in the top-10 in his first career event and had a 72.67 stroke average in final rounds, one of the best final-round averages on the team. He finished the season with a 220 score at the NCAA Regional.

This past fall, Higgins posted a 72.64 stroke average for his 11 rounds, fourth best on the team, and finished the fall with an eighth place at the Ka’anapali Classic in Hawaii where his 203 total included a final round 65.

Alberto Dominguez is another transfer in his second year with the Clemson program. The former Erskine player was a two-time All-American at the Division II level in three years with the Flying Fleet, where he played in 28 tournaments and 77 rounds over three years. A model of consistency at Erskine, he had a 71.83 career stroke average for those 28 tournaments. He had 22 career rounds in the 60s, 34 underpar rounds, and 44 rounds at par or better, and posted 18 top-10 tournament finishes, including five victories.

In his first year at Clemson, he had a 73.94 stroke average for 18 rounds and had four rounds at par or better. He had a strong 72.17 stroke average in the final rounds. This past fall

he had a 71.67 stroke average while playing as an individual in two tournaments, including a 15th-place finish at the Ka’anapali Classic in Hawaii.

Sean Curran is in his third year with the Clemson program and is a veteran of five tournaments and 15 rounds. He had four rounds at 72 in his limited appearances. The three-time Illinois state tournament qualifier is the first Clemson golf signee from Illinois since 1980. He was named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll as a freshman.

Justin Burroughs is a sophomore from the state of Florida who played in two tournaments as a freshman. The four-time Area Golfer of the Year in Pensacola had a solid summer of 2022 when he finished ninth at the AJGA Stewart Cink Championship with 207 total in August. He also finished 14th at Florida State Boys Junior in July and is a two-time all-state selection in Florida.

Austin Scott is a sophomore in his third year with the program, who came to Clemson from Bishop England High School and Daniel Island, S.C. He had a strong list of accomplishments in junior golf and was a two-time All-State election. He won the 2019 South Carolina Junior Championship and led Bishop England to two state championships in his career including a pair of top four individual finishes in the state 3A tournament. Scott enters the spring of 2024 as a veteran of two tournaments and six rounds.

Calahan Keever is a newcomer, but he has plenty of college experience after starring at nearby Anderson University. He was a first-team Division II All-American last year and was a big reason Anderson was ranked #1 in the nation on May 5, 2023, just before NCAA Division II regional action. The Eastside High School product had a 70.50 stroke average for Anderson in 10 tournaments and was a first-team allconference selection when he had 22 under-par rounds. He was a big reason Anderson won four tournaments last year.

Keever got his Clemson career off to a great start with a third-place finish at the J.T. Poston Invitational last September when he had scores of 71-69-67. He finished 21st at The Blessings, second among Tiger golfers. He will certainly be challenged for a starting position this spring.

Will Baker is the only true freshman on the Clemson roster this year. He led Prince Avenue Christian in Statham, Georgia to three consecutive state titles, the first three state golf championships in school history. He finished in the top three individually in all three years, including gaining medalist honors in 2023. Baker gained national recognition in April of 2023 when he made a hole-in-one on a par four hole in a competition. He was a national top 100 Junior by GolfWeek just before he came to Clemson in August 2023.

Clemson begins its spring schedule on Feb. 5-6 at the Battle of Briar’s Creek in Charleston, S.C.

JORDAN BYRD

JOEY MAXON

WILL BAKER

JUSTIN BURROUGHS

HEAD COACH

ASSISTANT COACH

Freshman Statham, Ga.

Sophomore Pensacola, Fla.

SEAN CURRAN

ALBERTO DOMINGUEZ

THOMAS HIGGINS

CALAHAN KEEVER

Junior New Lenox, Ill.

Senior Sanlucar De Barrameda, Spain

Sophomore Roscommon, Ireland

Senior Greenville, S.C.

JONATHAN NIELSEN

KIAN ROSE

AUSTIN SCOTT

ANDREW SWANSON

Senior Copenhagen, Denmark

Redshirt Junior Gauteng, South Africa

Redshirt Sophomore Daniel Island, S.C.

Junior Bluffton, S.C. ORANGE: THE EXPERIENCE | 43

WOMEN'S GOLF SEASON PREVIEW

COMING OFF OF LAST YEAR'S ACC CHAMPIONSHIP, THE TIGERS ARE SET TO MAKE AN NCAA REGIONAL FOR THE EIGHTH STRAIGHT YEAR.

BY TIM BOURRET

W

HAT WILL THE CLEMSON WOMEN’S GOLF TEAM DO FOR AN ENCORE in the spring of 2024?

It will be a tall task to exceed or even duplicate the accomplishments of the 2022-23 Clemson team, the most successful in many areas in Clemson history.

Last year’s squad received national attention by winning the ACC Championship, the first in program history, during a year where Wake Forest won the National Championship. The team then finished second at the NCAA Pullman Regional, the highest regional finish in school history. That performance qualified Clemson for the NCAA Championship for the second time in school history.

In the spring, the Tigers finished in the top three in three consecutive tournaments for the first time in school history and posted five top-four finishes over the season.

It was a banner year for Head Coach Kelley Hester as she was named the ACC Coach of the Year, a first in Clemson women’s golf history.

The Tigers are off to a great start in the 2023-24 academic year as the team already has three top-three finishes in four fall events. That includes the co-championship at the 18team Landfall Tradition in the final event of the fall. The Tigers shot 21-under par for the 54 holes to tie ACC foe Duke.

It was a bittersweet victory because it was also the final Clemson tournament for fifth-year senior Savannah Grewal.

She was Clemson’s top golfer in 2022-23 and holder of the team’s best stroke average in the fall of 2023.

The native of Canada finished 10th at the LPGA Q-Series and thus turned professional in December. Grewal will begin her professional career this spring while competing against the best women’s golfers in the world. She finished first, sixth, and 10th at the three stages of qualifying to become the third former Clemson golfer and first Clemson graduate to qualify for the LPGA Tour.

Over her Clemson career, Grewal set or tied 32 Clemson records, including marks for the low season stroke average, a 71.77 figure she turned in last year. She finished 55th in the Golfweek rankings last year and was 16th in the nation

by Spikemark, the official rankings of the NCAA, when she turned professional this past December.

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Grewal’s departure will be a big position to fill in Hester’s lineup, but there are still six veterans on the roster who have experience competing for the program in big tournaments.

Annabelle Pancake was second behind Grewal in stroke average last year and she is a veteran of 30 tournaments and 87 rounds entering the spring of 2024. Last year it was Pancake who had the most top 10 finishes with four, and she was the only Clemson golfer to win a tournament. The native of Indiana was co-medalist at the Clemson Invitational with a five-under par 211. She then finished fourth at the ACC tournament with a 209 score, the highest finish ever by a Clemson women’s golfer at the conference event.

This past summer Pancake received national attention when she was a finalist at the Women’s British Amateur at Portmarock, Ireland. She became the first American in five years to reach the finals and her performance moved Pancake to #37 in the World Amateur rankings.

This past fall Pancake posted a 70.73 stroke average for four tournaments and 11 rounds. She was Clemson’s top golfer at the Landfall Tradition, where she finished second in the medalist race.

Chloe Holder is set for an outstanding second semester in her junior year. In the first semester, she posted a 70.55 stroke average, second on the team to Grewal’s 70.0, and she had a team-best six rounds in the 60s. Holder had a pair of top 10s, a 10th place at The Blessings, and a seventh place at the Landfall Tradition. She shot a Clemson record-tying 63 in the final round at The Landfall Tradition, a big reason Clemson was able to tie Duke for the team title.

Holder was third on the Clemson team in stroke average last year with a 72.88, a season that included a fifth-place finish at The Blessings. The transfer from Augusta University won the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate her freshman year and had three top-five finishes for the Jaguars.

Isabella Rawl is a sophomore on the Clemson team this year who was in the middle of some great moments during her rookie year with the program. The native of Lexington, S.C. won the decisive match over her opponent from the University of Virginia to clinch the ACC Championship for the Tigers. The win gave her a 2-0 record in the ACC Championship, joining

Holder as the only Clemson golfer to win both her semifinal and final matches.

Last year Rawl was in the lineup for seven of Clemson’s 12 tournaments, including all three postseason events. She finished 14th at the Clemson Invitational and 24th at the ACC Championship. Her score counted in 16 of 20 rounds.

Katherine Schuster was in the starting lineup for five tournaments last year and for two of the four this past fall. The native of Outer Banks, N.C. had a 75.15 stroke average last year as a sophomore when she finished 23rd at the Moon Golf Championship. This past fall Schuster was much improved and had a 72.56 stroke average for nine rounds, fifth on the team, when her resume included an opening round 67 at the Cougar Classic.

Melena Barrientos is an experienced junior who figures to see a lot of playing time this spring. The native of Plano, Texas was fourth on the team in stroke average last year with a 73.19 average. She posted three top 10s, tied for second on the team. She finished the year strong with 11th place at the ACC Championship and 10th place at the Pullman Regional.

Barrientos is a veteran of 21 tournaments and has 18 career under-par rounds. She led the team in stroke average as a freshman when she had three top-10 finishes.

Sydney Roberts is another veteran on this year’s team. As a freshman in 2022-23, she had a 74.64 stroke average for

her 14 rounds. She had her best performance at the Clemson Invitational where she finished 27th thanks to an opening round 69. She started this past fall with a strong 12th place at The Blessings.

Ivy Schulze is a freshman from Anderson, S.C. who was an all-state performer at T.J. Hanna High School. She was the leader of the Hanna team that finished third in the state 5A Tournament. Schulze was named to the United States team that played in the Canada-America Matches.

Hester also has a new member on her staff. Katy Nahm comes to Clemson as Hester’s top assistant after spending 12 years at the University of Kansas. She was also an assistant coach at her alma mater, Coastal Carolina from 2007-09. As a player at Coastal Carolina, Nahm was a three-time All-Big South selection and the conference freshman of the year.

Clemson begins its spring schedule on the West Coast at the Therese Sessional Challenge at Palos Verdes Country Club in Palos Verdes, Calif. It will hopefully be the first of two trips to that part of the country as the NCAA Championships will be held at Omni Resort in Carlsbad, Calif.

Clemson is scheduled to play five regular-season tournaments in the spring, including the Clemson Invitational at The Reserve at Lake Keowee, March 22-24. The ACC Championship will be held at Porter’s Neck in Wilmington, N.C. for the first time, April 18-21.

KELLEY HESTER

MELENA BARRIENTOS

CHLOE HOLDER

ANNABELLE PANCAKE

HEAD COACH

Junior | Plano, Texas

Junior | Anderson, S.C.

Senior | Zionsville, Ind.

ISABELLA RAWL

SYDNEY ROBERTS

IVY SCHULZE

KATHERINE SCHUSTER

Sophomore | Lexington, S.C.

Sophomore | Chesnee, S.C.

Freshman | Anderson, S.C.

Junior | Kill Devil Hills, N.C. ORANGE: THE EXPERIENCE | 45

LACROSSE SEASON PREVIEW COMING OFF OF AN IMPRESSIVE INAUGURAL SEASON, CLEMSON WILL BE PLAYING ITS FIRST SEASON AT THEIR LAKEFRONT STATE-OF-THE-ART LACROSSE STADIUM.

BY MEGAN KINNER

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OMING OFF OF AN IMPRESSIVE INAUGURAL SEASON, CLEMSON WILL be playing its first season at their lakefront state-of-theart lacrosse stadium. For the first time in program history, Clemson sold season and single-game tickets in addition to offering a unique tailgating experience as an add-on to enhance the gameday experience “We’re excited for Clemson fans to have the opportunity to see some great lacrosse as we open our world-class facility this spring,” said Head Coach Allison Kwolek. “We look forward to this competitive slate, and building on what we accomplished last year.”

The new facilities, which feature a 1,000-seat stadium and a 9,000-square-foot operations building, make Clemson the only school in the country to have a stadium and facility solely designated to its women’s lacrosse program. The lacrosse operations building contains coaches offices, an athletic training room, a locker room, a player lounge, and a hype tunnel. Adjacent to its facilities is the brand-new Athletic Recovery Center which includes space for sports science, nutrition, and sports medicine.

In addition to Head Coach Allison Kwolek, Clemson is led

by Associate Head Coach Bill Olin and Assistant Coaches Madison Carter and Marina Miller. At the end of fall ball, the team voted Ella Little, Bella D’Gracia, Shannon Brazier, and Kerri Thornton as this year’s captains.

The team’s roster is made up of eight freshmen, nine sophomores, three juniors, five seniors, and nine graduates.

17 players return from the inaugural roster, while eight freshmen and eight transfers join the Tigers for their first season.

In its inaugural season last year, Clemson finished the regular season 12-5 with a 4-5 record against ACC opponents.

The season was highlighted by an 11-10 upset over No. 13 Duke and a top 25 national ranking for nine straight weeks.

Several returning Tigers earned postseason awards for their impressive seasons, namely Paris Masaracchia (ACC AllFreshman & USA U20 Training Team), Nakeeya McCardell (South’s All-Region Second Team), and Ella Little (USA

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Lacrosse All-American Honorable Mention). After narrowly missing a bid to the NCAA Tournament last year, the Tigers head into the 2024 season eager to prove themselves worthy to go dancing in May. Throughout the season, Clemson will play a total of 16 games, including seven non-conference opponents, nine ACC opponents, eight home games, and eight away games.

Clemson will play several opponents for the first time in school history, including Davidson, Coastal, Mercer, Queens, and ECU. Clemson will open its season at home on Saturday, February 10 against Davidson at 2 p.m. The following week Clemson will travel down the road to Greenville, S.C. where they will play Furman at 6 p.m. Then after hosting another non-conference opponent in Coastal on Saturday, February 17 at noon, Clemson will travel to Durham, N.C. to face Duke, their first ACC opponent, on Saturday, February 24 at 1 p.m.

Clemson will come back home to host Virginia on Saturday, March 2 at 1 p.m. To break up ACC play, Clemson will go play at Mercer on Tuesday, March 5 at 12 p.m. before coming back home to play UNC on Saturday, March 9 at 3 p.m. After that, Clemson has two back-to-back road games with Wofford on March 11 and then Louisville on March 17.

The Tigers will then return to Clemson for a three-game homestand, starting with Notre Dame on March 22, then Queens College on March 24, and then Virginia Tech on March 30. Up next, Clemson will travel to play ECU on Tuesday, April 2 at 5 p.m. Clemson’s slated to close out the regular season with three straight ACC opponents. First, Clemson is set to play at Boston College on Sunday, April 7 at 12 p.m., at home against Syracuse for their senior game on Saturday, April 13 at 12 p.m., and then finally at Pitt on Thursday, April 18 at 4 p.m.

All dates and times for the 2024 season are subject to change.

For complete coverage of the Clemson women’s lacrosse team, follow ClemsonWlax on Instagram and Twitter and ClemsonWLacrosse on Facebook.

ORANGE: THE EXPERIENCE | 47

MEN'S TENNIS SEASON PREVIEW

UNDER THE HELM OF NEW HEAD COACH BRANDON WAGNER, A NEW ERA BEGINS FOR THE MEN’S TENNIS PROGRAM AT CLEMSON.

BY AUTUMN FROITLAND

T

HE CLEMSON MEN’S TENNIS TEAM IS SET TO IMPRESS IN THE 2024 season with the help of their top-tier recruits, all-star returners, and the leadership structure under new head coach, Brandon Wagner.

On June 7, 2023, Director of Athletics Graham Neff named Wagner the head coach of the tennis program as the program looks to continue on the path of success in a new era of coaching. Wagner, who served on the University of Texas Longhorns’ staff as an assistant and associate head coach since 2019, is coming off a national semifinal appearance and Big 12 Championship in 2023 and was named the Texas Regional ITA Assistant Coach of the Year.

Joining Wagner on staff is Austin Rapp, who joined the program as an assistant coach before Wagner’s arrival, in the 2022 season as he previously coached alongside Wagner for two seasons as a volunteer assistant coach at Texas. Before the start of their 2023 fall season, Wagner also named

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Sander Koning an assistant coach as he joined the staff from Clemson Women’s Tennis as he was a volunteer coach for them in the 2022 season.

Wagner made his coaching debut for the Tigers this past fall as the team competed in four tournaments and gave fans a glimpse of what to expect in the 2024 season. While the four returners impressed, the newcomers also shined as they proved the value, they hold on the Tiger roster.

In the fall, the Tigers welcomed four new additions Stewart Aronson, Max Damm, Marko Mesarovic, and Noa Vukadin.

In doubles, Vukadin picked up seven total wins with doubles partner and returner, Max Smith. The duo earned notable wins against pairings from Florida, UCF, and Vanderbilt.

Mesarovic, who entered the program as a recruiting Blue Chip and ranked No. 12 in the country, secured six doubles and four singles wins this past fall.

Alongside Vukadin, Smith secured seven wins in doubles, but the junior also recorded nine total singles wins as he led

the team in singles victories for the fall season. Additional returners on the fall roster were Matt Pitts, Trey Stinchcomb, and Spencer Whitaker. After wrapping up a successful fall season, the Tigers are ready to continue to impress as they prepare for the 2024 season, marking Wagner’s first spring campaign at Clemson.

This spring, the Tigers will compete in 22 total duels and are set to host 12 matches at the Duckworth Family Tennis Facility. The Tigers will open the season by hosting a doubleheader on January 13 as they welcome Brown and The Citadel to Clemson.

In the non-conference portion of the schedule, the Tigers will compete against notable teams like in-state rival South

Carolina, Michigan State, Northwestern, and Memphis. In conference play, the Tigers are set to play host to Boston College, Miami, Florida State, and Virginia and will close out the regular season by hosting Virginia Tech.

Clemson will welcome new additions in the spring as they add Kaetan Mehta and Wissam Abderrahman to the roster.

The Tigers will also bring back their fifth returner Ryuhei Azuma as he did not play in the fall but is set to compete in the spring.

Under new leadership and with the help of their successful returners and eager newcomers, the program is ready to create history as they look to start a new era for Clemson Men’s Tennis.

WISSAM ABDERRAHMAN

STEWART ARONSON

RYUHEI AZUMA

MAX DAMM

Freshman Paris, France

Freshman Vancouver, Canada

Senior Ishikawa, Japan

Graduate Bradenton, Fla.

KAETAN MEHTA

MARKO MESAROVIC

MATT PITTS

MAXWELL SMITH

Redshirt Freshman Edmonton, Canada

Freshman Austin, Texas

Redshirt Junior Greer, S.C.

Junior Daniel Island, S.C.

TREY STINCHCOMB

NOA VUKADIN

SPENCER WHITAKER

Redshirt Junior Olney, Md.

Freshman Zagreb, Croatia

Senior Richmond, Va. ORANGE: THE EXPERIENCE | 49

WOMEN'S TENNIS SEASON PREVIEW

HIGH ANTICIPATION SURROUNDS THE START OF THE CLEMSON WOMEN'S TENNIS SEASON AS THE PROGRAM IS DEBUTING AN ENTIRELY NEW COACHING STAFF.

BY MAKENNA BIEHL AND CARSON RILEY

T

HE CLEMSON WOMEN'S TENNIS TEAM OPENS UP THE SPRING 2024 inaugural season in Indian Wells, Calif., as they face off in the Dual in the Desert, a hidden duals tournament.

The season will feature non-conference competition against ETSU, Georgia State, Western Carolina, Iowa, Alabama, Charlotte, Georgia Southern, College of Charleston, South Carolina, Coastal Carolina, Mercer, and Charleston Southern.

Conference play for the Tigers will begin when the team faces Syracuse on the road.

There will be several opportunities for fans to support the Tigers at home as the team hosts two home doubleheaders and notable matchups against Virginia, Louisville, Notre Dame, Wake Forest, and NC State. The 2023 ACC Championship Tournament will occur from April 17-21 in Cary, N.C. The ACC Tournament will be followed by the NCAA First and Second Rounds beginning on May 3.

High anticipation surrounds the start of the Clemson Women's Tennis season as the program is debuting an entirely new coaching staff. Boomer Saia was named the fifth head coach of the women's tennis program in June 2023 and has since remodeled the program for success. Saia stepped into his first head coach position at Iowa State University for the 2019-2023 seasons. While leading the Cyclones, Saia set records in Big 12 wins, overall wins, all-conference selections, and NCAA appearances while breaking several winless streaks. He was named the 2021 and 2023 Big 12 Coach of the Year.

"We are tremendously excited to start our first Tiger tennis season as a staff this Spring," Saia says. "We have significant experience with our players, which we will rely on heavily as we enter ACC play. Our group is excited and ready to get our season underway!"

Working alongside Coach Saia are Associate Head Coaches Ashleigh Antal and Tom Rees, who have had successful tennis careers. Antal had an impactful tennis career as she took her skills to play collegiate tennis for Vanderbilt University. While playing for the Commodores', she started all four years while being a two-year captain for the team. Antal reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA doubles tournament, was named an NCAA Double All-American her senior season

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and had a career-high ranking of No. 9 in doubles and No. 101 in singles. Rees played his first collegiate tennis season at Tusculum University, where he held the No. 1 singles and doubles spot. Following his first collegiate tennis season, Rees took his talent to UNC-Asheville from 2009-12. While playing for the Bulldogs, Rees was a Big South All-Conference selection and the league's No. 2 doubles champion. Following college, he played on the ITF professional circuit in European and U.S. tournaments from 2012-16.

Antal and Rees have also proven successful on the coaching side of tennis. Antal started her coaching career at California State University Long Beach in 2018 before taking the head women's tennis coach position at Appalachian State in 2020. Rees began coaching in 2012 as an assistant coach at North Georgia before taking a head coaching position in the men's and women's tennis programs at the University of Illinois-Springfield in 2014. Rees then stepped into the same position at Lenoir-Rhyne University in 2016. He took a break from coaching collegiate tennis in 2017-18 to become an ATP Tour coach before making his collegiate coaching return in 2019 as the assistant women's tennis coach at Kansas State University. Following his handful of years at Kansas State, Rees was named head women's tennis coach at the University of the Incarnate Word.

"Super excited for the 2024 season to get underway," Rees says. "Our team continues to work hard with great energy every day, and they are eager to make their mark this year. We have a great schedule that will present plenty of opportunities for success - there will be adversity, injuries, highs, and lows, but as long as we stick to and trust our process, the future is a very bright Orange. Couldn't be happier to be stepping on the court alongside Coach Saia and Coach Antal. We share a big-time vision for Clemson, a return to the top of the college tennis world, and it's a pleasure to work alongside them."

Clemson is in good hands under new authority as the team is coming off a 16-12 record in the 2023 season, with a final national ranking at No. 42. It should be a promising season for the Tigers as they welcome back key senior players Sophia Hatton, Cristina Mayorova, and Daniella Medvedeva.

Hatton enters 2024 after finishing a notable 2023 season at 17-11 overall with a 7-5 conference record. Last season,

she played primarily on court 5 in singles and court 3 in doubles. Hatton had a career-highlight win as she beat a nationally ranked opponent in doubles.

Mayorova had an impressive 20-13 individual record while finishing 4-7 in ACC play. Mayorova played primarily on court 2 in singles and doubles, taking down two nationally ranked opponents in both.

Medvedeva finished last season strong with a record of 2010 and a 7-6 ACC play record. She primarily played on court

4 in singles, beating four nationally ranked opponents. While mainly playing on court 3 in doubles, Medvedeva beat two nationally-ranked opponents. After enduring shoulder surgery this off-season, she will gradually return as an asset to the team.

The team adds freshman Alina Tsyurpalevych while returning Jenna Thompson, Alexandra Anttila, and Leigh Van Zyl.

ALEXANDRA ANTTILA

SOPHIA HATTON

ELENI LOUKA

Junior Lappeenranta, Finland

Junior DeWitt, N.Y.

Senior Derynia, Cyprus

CRISTINA MAYOROVA

DANIELLA MEDVEDEVA

JENNA THOMPSON

Junior Barcelona, Spain

Junior Kiliningrad, Russia

Junior Charlotte, N.C.

ALINA TSYURPALEVYCH

LEIGH VAN ZYL

Graduate Lviv, Ukraine

Sophomore Paarl, South Africa ORANGE: THE EXPERIENCE | 51

TRACK & FIELD SEASON PREVIEW

FOLLOWING ITS SUCCESSFUL 2023 INDOOR AND OUTDOOR SEASON, THE CLEMSON TRACK & FIELD PROGRAM WILL LOOK TO CONTINUE THEIR SUCCESS IN 2024.

BY AUTUMN FROITLAND

A

FTER IMPRESSING ALL IN THE 2023 SEASON AND SECURING AN ACC outdoor title, the Clemson track & field program is ready to continue its success in the 2024 indoor and outdoor season. With a blend of star-studded newcomers and wellaccomplished new coaches, the Tigers are on the hunt for another championship run.

After the 2023 outdoor season, the Tigers accomplished something special as the men’s outdoor team brought home their first ACC Championship title since 2004. The meet came down to the last event, the men’s 4×400 meter relay, with Clemson trailing the leader by four points. The team of Wanya McCoy, D’Andre Anderson, Cameron Rose, and Tarees Rhoden won the relay with a meet record time of 3:02.25 to bring Program Director Mark Elliott his first-ever men’s ACC Championship and secure the program’s 12th ACC Championship.

After helping lead the Tigers toward victory, Elliot was also named the 2023 ACC Outdoor Coach of the Year. Elliot, who signed a two-year extension in the summer of 2023, is set to coach through the 2025 season.

While the Tigers found success in the outdoor season, Clemson also shined in the indoor season as history was made at the 2023 Indoor National Championship. Senior Giano Roberts became the first male Tiger to win a National Championship in the 60-meter hurdles. He ran a personal best and school-record 7.55 seconds to claim the title.

Roberts was the first Clemson man to win an indoor national title since Miller Moss won the heptathlon in 2011, and the first Tiger since Natoya Goule in 2015 who won the 800 meters. The senior finished his Clemson career as a threetime All-American in the 60-meter hurdles, and a seven-time All-American in total.

As the Tigers celebrate last season’s victories and move the focus toward the upcoming season, Elliot welcomed two new coaches to help guide Clemson toward future success. Pete Charles was hired as an assistant coach in the jumps group in August. Charles comes to Clemson from the University of Maryland, where he spent the previous season. Alongside

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Charles, Tevin Hester joins the staff as he will serve as the new assistant coach for short sprints. A previous volunteer coach for the Tigers and a four-year sprinter at Clemson, Hester returns after coaching for three seasons at the University of Pittsburgh.

As the program welcomes new faces in both the coaching staff and the athletes, fans were able to get a glimpse of what is to come for the Tigers as they kicked off the indoor season with the Clemson Opener at the end of the year. At the meet, multiple athletes secured their places in the all-time top 10 lists, including freshman Blaik Slavinski who set the new record in the men’s 1000m with a finish of 2:20.52.

Following their successful performances at the Clemson Opener, six athletes earned ACC Performer of the Week honors as Cameron Rose, Ken’Naria Gadson, Daniel Cope, Shantae Foreman, Blaik Slavinski, and Kendra Dye all secured their first weekly honor of the 2024 season.

Five meets remain in the 2024 indoor season as the Tigers are set to play host for three of those meets. Clemson will wrap up the indoor portion of their schedule at the Tiger Paw Invite on February 9-10. The ACC Indoor Championship is set to take place February 22-24 as the Tigers will look to secure an indoor title.

For the outdoor portion of the schedule, Clemson will compete in their first outdoor meet starting on March 15 at the UCF Black and Gold Invitational in Orlando, Fla. While the Tigers will not host any outdoor meets, Clemson will travel to Columbia, S.C. to compete in the Weems Baskin Relays starting on March 22. The ACC Outdoor Championship will take place on May 9-11 in Atlanta, Ga., as Clemson will look to secure back-to-back men’s outdoor championship titles and earn a title for the women.

After their incredible 2023 season, the future is bright for the Tigers. While using their past accomplishments to boost them forward, the Clemson track & field program is ready to continue making history as they look to break new records, earn new achievements, and celebrate all the success that is to come in the 2024 season.

ORANGE: THE EXPERIENCE | 53

ROWING SEASON PREVIEW THE TIGERS ENTER THE 2024 SPRING SEASON FOLLOWING A SUCCESSFUL FALL SEASON.

BY MEGAN KINNER

B

EGINNING ON SATURDAY, MARCH 2, CLEMSON ROWING IS SET TO compete in four regattas in the Spring 2024 season, including one home regatta and three away regattas. As a part of Clemson Athletics Women’s Sports Expansion Project, Clemson Rowing will enjoy a new state-of-the-art training room in its facility this season.

Joining Head Coach Stephen Frazier Wong, Associate Head Coach Ted Nagorsen, Assistant Coach Mandy Merritt, and Graduate Assistant Coach Ciera Devenuto-Wyeth. This season is recently hired Assistant Coach Amy Hildebrandt.

Hildebrandt joins Clemson from Seattle Pacific University, where she served as the Assistant Coach for six years. At Seattle Pacific, Hildebrandt led the Varsity 4+ to fourth-place finishes in the Grand Final at the 2022 and 2023 NCAA and the 2023 GNAC Championship. In 2021 and 2022, she led the Varsity 4+ to place second in the GNAC Championship.

In addition, she coached the JV8+, 2v8+, and Open 4+ to first-place finishes in 2019 at the WIRA Championship, Windermere Cup, and Central Oklahoma dual race.

Leading the Tigers this season are captains Caroline Emerson and Kristen Dutkin. Julia Walsh, Amelia Anglin, and Abby Dutton join Emerson and Dutkin to make up the 20232024 Leadership Council.

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Clemson looks to improve on its sixth-place finish in the ACC Championship last year and hopes to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament in Ohio. The Tigers enter the 2024 Spring Season following a successful fall season where they raced at both the Head of the Oklahoma and the Secret City Head Race. Clemson’s Varsity Eights took home first place at the Head of the Oklahoma, and its Novice 8+ defeated all four Tennessee boats to win first place at the Secret City Head Race.

Clemson will open its spring season with two home races on Lake Hartwell, starting with the Carolina Cup on Saturday, March 2nd, and a scrimmage against Boston University on Saturday, March 9th. The next week, the Tigers will travel to Oak Ridge, Tenn. to compete in the Cardinal Invite on March 16th and 17th. On April 19th and 20th, Clemson will race in the Big 10 Invite in Sarasota, Fla. Clemson is once again set to finish its regular season at the Lake Wheeler Invite in Raleigh, N.C. on April 26th and 27th. The Tigers will return to Raleigh, N.C. for the ACC Championship races on May 17th and 18th.

For complete coverage of the Clemson Rowing team follow @ClemsonRowing on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

ORANGE: THE EXPERIENCE | 55

A SPECIAL THANK YOU IPTAY HOSTS SUCCESSFUL STUDENT-ATHLETE THANK-A-THON.

BY REED KRAMER

O

N NOVEMBER 13 AND 14, IPTAY HOSTED ITS ANNUAL STUDENT-ATHLETE thank-a-thon in the 1934 Club of the McCarter Family IPTAY Center. The event provides Clemson studentathletes the opportunity to personally thank donors for supporting Clemson Athletics. Over the two-day event, more than 190 student-athletes participated, making over 2,000 calls and writing over 1,000 handwritten notes.

Travis Furbee, a senior associate director at IPTAY, recently commented on the annual stewardship initiative. “So much of what we do is only possible because of the support from our IPTAY donors! The thank-a-thon is one of my favorite events each year and provides a great opportunity to have those who are being impacted by IPTAY donor support firsthand, the opportunity to show their gratitude. The turnout this year by our student-athletes was phenomenal and is a testament to their appreciation of the IPTAY family and their generosity.”

With participation reaching record levels, current Clemson student-athletes were able to thank donors from more than half of the annual IPTAY giving levels. Teams represented included men’s cross country, women’s cross country, men’s track & field, women’s track & field, rowing, lacrosse, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, softball, men’s tennis, women’s golf, women’s tennis, gymnastics, and football. One

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of those students from rowing was Julia Walsh, a senior and president of the student-athlete advisory committee, who had this sentiment to share with donors. “I want to take a moment to thank all our amazing IPTAY donors. I have been here for my entire career, and as a senior, I know that my academic and athletic experience would not have been the same without the selflessness of our donors and everything they have provided. Thank you so much for what you do, Go Tigers!”

Additionally, Alex Teufel, a sophomore on the men’s track & field team, had a message to share. “We want to extend a thank you to you for continuing to support IPTAY! Your contributions do matter, they do make a difference, and we thank you for your continued support. We would not be able to do what we do on and off the track and on and off the fields if it wasn’t for your support. So thank you!”

For those who received a note or call, we hope that it made an impact on you! In years to come the goal is to expand the reach of the annual event to even more donors, so that they may also hear the heartfelt messages of the young men and women who proudly wear the Paw. From the entire IPTAY team, coaches, administrators, and student-athletes, we thank you for being ALL-IN with us on this journey. Go Tigers!

JULIA WALSH

ALEX TEUFEL

Rowing | Coxswain | Sr.

Track & Field | Jumps | So.

CLEMSON OPENS GYMNASTICS, LACROSSE, ATHLETE RECOVERY FACILITIES CLEMSON AND IPTAY CELEBRATED THE COMPLETION OF ITS LAKEFRONT FACILITIES WITH A RIBBON-CUTTING CEREMONY JUST OVER A YEAR AFTER BREAKING GROUND ON THE STATE-OF-THE-ART PROJECT.

C

LEMSON AND IPTAY CELEBRATED THE COMPLETION OF ITS $37-MILLION lakefront facilities with a ribbon-cutting ceremony just over a year after breaking ground on the state-of-theart project. The new facilities include the first-of-its-kind Athlete Recovery Center, dedicated operations and practice complexes for both Gymnastics and Lacrosse programs, as well as the new Clemson Lacrosse Stadium.

Student-athletes Bella D’Gracia, Ella Little, Rebecca Wells and Lilly Lippeatt spoke at the event along with University President Jim Clements, Director of Athletics Graham Neff, Executive Senior Associate AD Stephanie Ellison-Johnson, and Head Coaches Allison Kwolek and Amy Smith.

The Gymnastics program and the Lacrosse program have officially moved into their new spaces as they open their 2024 seasons. Gymnastics competes in Littlejohn Coliseum in its inaugural meet at 7 p.m. on Friday. Lacrosse opens its second season on Feb. 10 against Davidson. Season tickets are now available.

Lacrosse’s new facilities feature a stadium with 1,000 bleacher seats and artificial turf, as well as a 9,000-squarefoot operations complex that includes coaches offices, locker rooms, player lounge, nutrition center, team meeting room, and an athletic training room.

With competitions to take place in Littlejohn Coliseum,

gymnastics will use its 21,000-square-foot facility for dayto-day operations and practice. Like lacrosse, the gymnastics complex will include a practice gym, offices, locker room, lounge, and training room.

The 10,000-square-foot Athlete Recovery Center (ARC) is a retreat for all student-athletes to engage in both mental and physical wellness practices in an environment that emphasizes recovery and community. The one-of-a-kind space will consistently host programs with the sole focus of further impacting Clemson student-athletes’ holistic development.

Clemson Athletics and IPTAY are committed to providing a world-class student-athlete experience. Through IPTAY and Clemson Athletics, the Hear Her Roar Campaign supplemented funding toward recently completed women’s sports facility investments, including a McWhorter Softball Stadium, the Duckworth Family Tennis Center, Soccer Operations Complex, renovated Littlejohn Coliseum and a new banked track, and expansion at the golf facility.

Those interested in learning more about how to support the Hear Her Roar campaign and naming opportunities within the new facilities can reach out to Lauren Gaulin at IPTAY at lgaulin@clemson.edu.

ORANGE: THE EXPERIENCE | 57

Hello Tigers,

T

HE MISSION OF ANY COMPANY OR ORGANIZATION SHOULD MEAN everything to their employees as they serve their various constituencies, because, after all, the mission of any group is the reason why they’re even in existence. Many organizations have their mission statement nicely scripted on a wall somewhere in the corporate lobby, but in the vast majority of cases, very few of their employees could ever recite it, much less have any sort of an emotional connection to the organization’s unique mission.

I write this coming off one of those infamous corporate offsites for my own company (a staffing and recruiting firm), and our two days together were complete with “whiteboards”, “parking lots”, and “breakout groups”. We’ve all spent too much time in our careers at these events. Many of these can be a grind or dare I say it, a waste of time. But the time I spent with my company’s leaders was fully focused on our mission, and how we can deepen that mission’s emotional connection through our employees to our clients, as well as our communities.

I use that example because there were many times last week that I also reflected on the mission that IPTAY serves every single day – to provide resources to support the academic, athletic, and personal development of Clemson University student-athletes and the competitive success of Clemson Athletics. That’s the “why” behind why IPTAY was started almost 90 years ago. That’s the “why” behind the 22,040 of you that through your financial support, you champion our student-athletes so they can unleash their full potential, and that’s not just on the court, field, or track.

Our mission specifically states that we support our studentathletes in three aspects of their development – academically, athletically, and their personal development. From an academic perspective, you’ve helped to create and enhance a world-class environment for all 540 of our student-athletes.

Last month, our student-athletes were celebrated for their remarkable accomplishments in the classroom: The Clemson Athletic Department tops the nation among public Power Five institutions in Graduation Success Rate (GSR) with a 97 percent. Ten Clemson programs set or tied program records for GSR. Clemson’s Football program set a new program record of 99 percent, which leads all of Division I. Clemson’s department rate of 97 percent leads the nation among all public institutions and is fifth in the nation among all Power Five programs, public or private.

Football’s 99 percent mark is the highest GSR score for any Power Five football program since the 2018-19 release, and the highest ever recorded among public Power Five football programs in the 19 years the NCAA has tracked the metric.

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Clemson set a department record with 10 programs that earned perfect 100 percent scores for the cohort – baseball, men’s basketball, men’s golf, men’s tennis, women’s basketball, women’s golf, women’s soccer, women’s cross country/track, softball, and volleyball.

Volleyball maintained its streak of 19 consecutive cohorts at 100 percent.

The softball program hit 100 percent in its first available cohort since beginning play in 2020, while the men’s soccer program’s 96 percent mark was its second-best on record, trailing a 100 in the 2014 release.

It’s easy to miss what all of you do to support our studentathletes through your support of IPTAY. But the priority of IPTAY is to fund athletic scholarships for our Tigers. With our deadline for IPTAY renewals nearing on February 15th, and as you’re writing that check or inputting your credit card number, I ask that you simply pause and think of the young woman or man that will be granted an opportunity for a worldclass education at Clemson University, that they otherwise might not be able to obtain. And through that support for the “whole” person, we’ll help position them for greater life successes once they walk off the fields, courts, or tracks at Clemson for the last time.

As the complexity of collegiate athletics continues to evolve, our impact as a supporter of IPTAY becomes even more critical, and it sometimes helps to pause and consider our mission or the “why” behind IPTAY’s existence. It’s the significant impact we can have on a young person’s life, not only in college, but our support can and will change the trajectory of their life. And that’s pretty remarkable.

Go Tigers!

BILLY MILAM President, IPTAY Board of Directors

ORANGE: THE EXPERIENCE | 59

Where adventure comes naturally

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After a nationally-ranked performance in its inaugural meet, Clemson Gymnastics’ Lilly Lippeatt was named the ACC Newcomer of the Week, as voted on by the league office.

Lippeatt’s honor is the first in history for the Tigers’ brandnew program.

PHOTO BY DAWSON POWERS

ORANGE: THE EXPERIENCE | 61

DONOR PHOTOS EMAIL PHOTO, CAPTION AND IPTAY NUMBER TO: KELSEY TIBBS KTibbs@clemson.edu, or mail IPTAY, Attn: Kelsey Tibbs, P.O. Box 1529, Clemson, S.C. 29633

The Schmidts at the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania.

Pam Mahanes, Debi Culler, Janice Marsh, and Sandra Magee visiting Mykonos, Greece.

John Hoffman ('99), Michelle Hoffman, Caroline Hoffman, Rowan Buist, Lilly Hoffman, Britton Buist ('01), Kelly Buist, David Buist ('00) at Monument Valley, AZ. 62 | ORANGE: THE EXPERIENCE | ISSUE 3 | 2023-24

Tara Shaak Myers’ (‘04) four year old daughter Kenley posing with the Tiger on Tiger Walk before the football game!

Clemson's Lutheran Campus Ministry visiting the Wartburg Castle in Eisenach, Germany!

David and Angela Sumner were loving the beauty at Mendenhall Glacier and Falls in Juneau, Alaska on August 2, 2023.

While visiting the British Virgin Islands, Ann Yukish ('01) ('05) and family added a signed IPTAY flag to their final destination on Jost Van Dyke.

Davida Roof (‘84) at Devil’s Tower National Monument in Wyoming.

Dave (‘69) and Pat Holman, Celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in Elfin Cove, Alaska.

ORANGE: THE EXPERIENCE | 63

THE

LAST WORD

W

HEN I ASKED MIKE NOONAN ABOUT HIS 2023 TEAM AND THE main reasons his team was able to win the national championship, the program’s second in the last three years, he said, “This team was able to focus on its growth and development over the course of the season. The team followed the process more than the outcomes.”

That reference to “the process” sounds like an answer former Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban stated many times after his program won national championships. It isn’t a bad idea to follow some of Saban’s theories. He led Alabama to a record six national championships. (I would like to point out Head Coach Mike Noonan’s program has won two national titles since Saban won his last.)

Showing growth and improvement and following the process over the course of the 2023 season was certainly a main reason Clemson raised the trophy in Louisville, Ky. after defeating Notre Dame 2-1 in the championship match.

Noonan’s team began the season with a loss to UFC and a tie to UNCW. There was a home win over South Carolina, but a week later Notre Dame scored three goals against the Tigers to win 3-2.

The Tigers were 2-2-1.

“We had to keep our players focused during the early part of the season,” said Noonan. “That was the case after we lost the opener, after we lost at Notre Dame on September 9, after we lost at Wake Forest on Sept. 22, even later in the season when we tied at NC State on October 27 which cost us the division championship.”

But that match on October 27 in Raleigh was the only blemish on the record after the September 22 loss at Wake Forest. The Tigers went on an incredible run (10-0-3) that saw the Tigers win the ACC Championship and national championship in the same season for the first time in school history.

The Tigers entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 9 seed but ran through five matches in dominating fashion.

The Tigers allowed 18 goals in the first 18 matches of the season, but only allowed one in the five games of the NCAA Tournament behind goalkeeper Joseph Andema. The lone goal came in the last two minutes of the championship game against Notre Dame.

The Notre Dame match demonstrated how Clemson had followed the process and showed great improvement over the

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ANOTHER NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

BY TIM BOURRET course of the season. The Irish scored three goals against Clemson on September 9 in South Bend, tied for the most against the Clemson defense all year, then scored just one goal against the Tigers in the December 11 championship match.

That is following the process though the entire season.

As stated above it gave Clemson two national championships in a three-year period. The comparisons to the accomplishments of the Clemson Football program come to mind. The Tigers won the 2016 and 2018 national championships under Head Coach Dabo Swinney. One of my favorite stats about these two three-season runs concerns the time between the two titles. There were 728 days in between the Clemson football titles of 2016 and 2018, and 729 days in between the 2021 and 2023 soccer titles.

Noonan joined Swinney and former men’s soccer coach Dr. I.M. Ibrahim as the only coaches in Clemson history with two national championships.

Six players participated in games for both the 2021 and 2023 Clemson teams. One of the six stood out. Ousmane Sylla won the 2023 MAC Hermann Award, the Heisman Trophy of college soccer, and was the fourth Clemson Men’s Soccer player to win the honor.

Sylla was a dominant presence all year, but especially in the NCAA Tournament. He finished the year with 13 goals and 10 assists to lead the team in both categories. He was the team’s third leading scorer in 2021.

There were some statistical similarities between the 2021 and 2023 Clemson teams. Both teams gave up exactly 19 goals defensively and had exactly 10 shutouts. Both teams advanced in postseason tournaments twice through penalty kicks, 2021 in the NCAA Tournament and 2023 in the ACC Championship.

Both teams defeated Notre Dame during the Final Four, the 2021 team in the National Semifinal on penalty kicks and the 2023 team in the championship, 2-1.

Noonan is careful not to make comparisons between his 2021 and 2023 teams (and there is no reason to), but he does see a common core value.

“Both teams had a love and spirit for Clemson University and the soccer program. They both had the ambition and drive to win.”

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