From the Desk of Dan Radakovich

May 13, 2013

Hello Tiger fans!

I am headed off to the ACC spring meetings this week in Florida. In my next writing, I hope to have much content to discuss as a result of those meetings. In the meantime, I thought it would be appropriate to focus this space on the student-athletes that graduated from Clemson last Friday. I had the privilege to be on hand for each of the three ceremonies as part of the president’s administrative council. It was wonderful to see so many orange stoles, which are worn to signify student-athletes, in each ceremony!

I thought I would share the wonderful success stories of a few of them. In all, 49 student-athletes walked across the stage in Littlejohn Coliseum to receive their degrees from President Barker. (See complete list of 2013 spring graduates below). It was particularly heart-warming to see some of our student-athletes who returned to earn degrees several years after their Tiger careers ended. [Read more...]

Men’s tennis ready for postseason after stellar campaign

Clemson's Zachary Rigsby pumps his fist during the Tigers' match against Wake Forest on Sunday at the Hoke Sloan Tennis Center. (Photo by Rex Brown/IPTAY Media)

Photo Gallery

By Gavin Oliver

CLEMSON — The Clemson men’s tennis team rounded out one of its most successful seasons in recent history despite a 4-3 loss to Wake Forest at home Sunday afternoon at the Hoke Sloan Tennis Center.

Clemson (17-6) finished the regular season with 17 wins, the highest single-season total for the program since also recording 17 victories during the 2009-10 campaign.

Clemson suffered its meager list of six of losses at the hands of teams ranked in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Poll, with three coming against teams that are currently in the top 10, including No. 1 Virginia and No. 2 Georgia.

The Tigers have defeated eight ranked teams to earn their stripes over the course of a tough 2012-13 schedule. [Read more...]

Student-athletes walk orange carpet for CLEMMYs

Boyd, Adeleye named top male, female athletes

Clemson football players, from left, Quandon Christian, Tajh Boyd and Chandler Catanzaro pose for pictures before the inaugural CLEMMYs on April 15 at Littlejohn Coliseum. (Photo by Dawson Powers)

Photo Gallery

By Steven Bradley

IPTAY Media

CLEMSON — At most major award shows, the stars walk the red carpet and proceed into a ballroom where awards are handed out for the year’s best performances. That was also the case at the inaugural CLEMMYs April 15, only the stars were Clemson’s student-athletes, the carpet was orange and the ballroom was Littlejohn Coliseum.

The CLEMMYs were modeled after the ESPYs as a comprehensive year-end awards show encompassing athletic and academic achievement. They replaced the Athletic Department’s annual honor banquet, which was an academic-focused event where only student-athletes with at least a 3.0 GPA had been invited.

“It’s all about the student-athletes. This is a night for them to have fun and just get together and celebrate,” Assistant Director for Athletic Academic Services Lindsey Ricketts said. [Read more...]

From the Desk of Dan Radakovich

April 22, 2013

Hello Tiger fans!

I thought this would be a good time to reflect on the tremendous success enjoyed by our athletic teams on what was dubbed “Solid Orange Weekend,” April 12-14 in Clemson. Our teams not only went undefeated, but IPTAY members and Tiger fans were able to gather and participate in fellowship on what turned out to be a beautiful weekend in the Upstate.

We had over 140 former letterwinners participate in our spring golf outing at the Walker Course and Cross Creek Plantation on Friday afternoon, and then over 300 were on hand for the awards dinner that night. It was great to spend time with some of our alumni and their families. Dabo Swinney also held his All-In Ball at the new indoor practice facility on Friday, and over $250,000 was raised for his foundation, which focuses support toward a number of worthy causes. [Read more...]

Maden leads men’s tennis to win over Georgia Tech

Clemson senior Yannick Maden won in both singles and doubles during the Tigers' victory over Georgia Tech on Friday. (Photo by Rex Brown/IPTAY Media)

By Carrie Truax

CLEMSON — Senior men’s tennis player Yannick Maden propelled No. 24 Clemson to a win over conference opponent Georgia Tech 4-1 on Friday at the indoor tennis facility to improve the Tigers’ record to 17-5 overall and 6-3 in the ACC,

Maden teamed up with his younger brother Dominique — the nation’s 15th-ranked doubles team — to beat the eighth-ranked Yellow Jackets doubles team of Juan Spir and Vikran Hundal, 8-5.

“We had success in doubles today because we kept the ball close to the net,” Yannick said. “We both hit the ball hard and attacked a couple of their missed volleys.”

In his singles match, the Stugartt, Germany native recorded a win against Georgia Tech’s Spir, 6-4, 6-3. [Read more...]

Tigers show what they’re made of against UNC

Clemson junior Dominique Maden hits a forehand return during his 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 3 singles against North Carolina on April 7 at the Hoke Sloan Tennis Center. (Photo by Rex Brown/IPTAY Media)

Photo Gallery

By Steven Bradley

IPTAY Media

CLEMSON — After Clemson dropped the doubles point to North Carolina on Sunday, assistant coach John Boetsch delivered a succinct message to the team before the singles play began: “We’re going to find out what we’re made of today.”

What the Tigers found out is they are made of awfully stern stuff, as they passed the test of mettle with flying colors by sweeping the singles matches for a 6-1 win at the Hoke Sloan Tennis Center, their first victory over the Tar Heels since 2005.

“The reasoning behind it is I want them to have pride in themselves and each other,” Boetsch said of his message. “We wanted to keep it simple and just challenge them.” [Read more...]

Student-athletes take time out to say thanks to donors

Clemson women's golfer Taylor Ramsey calls an IPTAY donor during the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Thank-a-Thon on April 1 at the University Foundation building on campus. (Photo by Rex Brown/IPTAY Media)

Photo Gallery

By Steven Bradley

IPTAY Media

CLEMSON — One of the purposes of Clemson’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is to give the university’s athletes a voice when it comes to issues that affect them, and last week that voice was used to say thanks.

This year’s SAAC Thank-a-Thon began April 1 and continued April 2 at the University Foundation building on campus with 100 Clemson athletes — 50 each day — taking time out to call as many IPTAY donors as possible to express their gratitude for the ways those donations have enriched their college experiences.

“That’s the great thing about IPTAY — we don’t hear a lot about IPTAY as far as our everyday lives,” said Brittney Waller, a senior thrower on the track & field team who helped head the initiative. “We don’t think about our facilities and how we’re able to do a lot of the things we do — traveling, maintenance, construction, those kind of things — so it is very nice to have IPTAY, and we’re really thankful to have donors who do support us and who do want us to be successful on and off the field.” [Read more...]

From the Desk of Dan Radakovich

Ricketts

April 8, 2013

Hello Tiger fans!

At the end of May, one of the fixtures in Clemson’s athletic department over the last 28 years, Robert Ricketts, will be retiring. Robert has dedicated most of his professional life to Clemson, and in the process has worn many different hats, first at the university and then within the athletic department. We are indebted to he and his wife, Kathey, for all they have done for Clemson Athletics. With that in mind, I asked Associate Sports Information Director Philip Sikes to sit down with Robert for a question and answer session to reflect on his experiences at Clemson.

Dan Radakovich [Read more...]

« Older Posts