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Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Wednesday Cardinal Couple -- A preview of Clemson women's athletics



WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


- Another ACC preview: The Clemson Tigers


We previewed ACC member Boston College last week. Today we move down the alphabet and take a look at Clemson University and their women's athletics.

The school was founded in 1889 and named after politician and statesman Thomas Green Clemson (1807-1888). The school is one of the inaugural members of the ACC, which was founded in 1953.

The athletic teams are nicknamed The Tigers and the orange paw print is the official logo.

Clemson participates in nine women's athletics events in Division I...basketball, cross country, diving (no swimming...just diving), golf, rowing, soccer, tennis, track and field and volleyball.

They do not field field hockey, lacrosse or softball teams that compete in the ACC. They are "club" level.

Team analysis of the nine women's sports squads that Louisville could compete against in listed below:

Basketball:  Clemson went 13-18 overall last year and 4-12 in the ACC. They were not invited to any post-season tournaments. Former UofL signee Charmaine Tay, a senior for the 2014-15 season, started for Clemson at guard in 20 games and averaged about 4 points a game last year. Jude or Shoni...she ain't...but WBB fans will remember how instrumental she was at the end of the NCAA second round game against Xavier in 2011 for Louisville...especially at the free throw line.  

Cross Country:  The team finished 7th out of 37 in the NCAA Southern regional and competes in local and regional events .

Diving:  You read it right...they offer Diving as a scholarship sport but not swimming. This opens up whole bucket-full of potential jokes...we'll take the high road and report that they did qualify divers for the 1 and 3 meter NCAA events.
 
Golf:  The Tigers were 9-11 in conference, 13-24 overall and qualified for the NCAA, where they finished 17th. in their region...not advancing to the NCAA Championships.

Rowing:  Clemson finished 4th in the ACC Championships and qualified several teams to compete in the NCAA Championships.

Soccer:  The Paw Prints were 7-8-4 overall, 4-7-2 in ACC play and did not make the NCAA Tournament.

Tennis:  A bit of success here for the South Carolina school, going 22-7 overall and 12-2 in conference. Four tennis players will be competing in NCAA Tournament action later this month.

Track and Field: Sadly, there are no stats about how their women's track team did in conference or any tournaments. Maybe they're hanging out with the swimmers and softball players ???

Volleyball:  A mediocre season for the Orange wide-netters...15-15 overall and 9-10 in the ACC. No invite to the NCAA for them.

From all appearances, a rather middle-of-the-pack team in most ACC women's sports. UofL women's basketball and volleyball should handle them easily. Hard to say about rowing and soccer. Clemson golf and UofL golf look evenly matched.

Paulie's Favorite Clemson memory:

We go way back into the past for this one. It was 1971 and I was a freshman in high school. One of my best friends had an older brother who was a sophomore on the University of Kentucky football team. The Cats were playing at Clemson in early September and Jeff ( not our Worldwide Jeff...) asked me if I wanted to go to the game with him and his parents.

Although I wasn't a big UK (or Clemson) fan, I thought it might be a fun weekend, so...I accepted. Tailgating wasn't nearly as popular as it is these days...we actually stopped for fast food en route to Memorial Stadium.

The Tigers lost that day to UK 13-10 and it rained the entire way (or so it seemed) on our drive back to Louisville that night. Mercifully, the rain held off during the contest.

Jeff's dad decided that we would leave after the game and return to Louisville...not wanting to foot another night of lodging. I think I slept a good deal of the way back.

Jeff's older brother never got in the game. Highlight of the trip for me was staying in a Holiday Inn the night before, rooming with Jeff and taking a pocketful of crackers from the hotel dining room.

Yes, I dined at a Holiday Inn.  I think we talked about girls in our class until 2 or 3 in the morning also. We also had breakfast at the Holiday Inn. Unfortunately, back then...no bloody mary's or mimosas were an option. Being 15 and all.

Yep. Living on the edge in the 70's....




paulie




2 comments:

  1. Tay look like she was going 2 b a good hooper for Cards. Why she leave

    ReplyDelete
  2. Per Coach Walz:

    "We appreciate Charmaine's effort and dedication to our program last year," said Walz. "We respect her decision to return to the east coast, to be closer to home so she can concentrate on her academics. We wish Charmaine the best of luck wherever she chooses to continue her career."


    Paulie

    ReplyDelete

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