University of Richmond Athletics
Six Spiders Named VaSID Academic All-State
06/17/2021 | Baseball, General, Men's Golf, Women's Lacrosse, Women's Soccer, Women's Swimming & Diving, Academic Services
RICHMOND, Va. – Six Richmond student-athletes were named to the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) Academic All-State for their efforts on the field and in the classroom. In order to qualify, student-athletes must be a sophomore in academic standing with a minimum of a 3.25 cumulative grade point average.
Senior men's golf student-athlete Michael Baker (Concord, N.C.), senior women's lacrosse student-athlete Rachel Ziemba (Cazenovia, N.Y.), graduate baseball student-athlete Drew Blakely (Galesburg, Md.), junior soccer student-athlete Taylor Coleman (Indian Trail, N.C.), sophomore women's lacrosse student-athlete Arden Tierney (Port Washington, N.Y.) and sophomore swimming student-athlete Claire O'Shaughnessy (Laurel, Md.) were honored among the top in the state.
Baker earns his third Academic All-State honor of his career for the business administration major. He earned the Presidential Citation award for Spider Athletics, given to the senior male student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA. A three-time Academic All-Atlantic 10 selection, Baker was also named the Robins School of Business Scholar Athlete of the Year this season.
Ziemba earns her second-straight Academic All-State career honor as a biology major. She earned the Presidential Citation award for Spider Athletics, given to the senior female student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA. Ziemba was an A-10 All-Academic team selection this season. She was third on the team with 15 assists, including a single-game record eight assists against George Mason.
Blakely was named Academic All-State after earning the athletics department's award for highest GPA in graduate school this year. He was an Academic All-Atlantic 10 Conference selection this season as a non-profit studies major. A team captain, Blakely was one of 16 semifinalists for the Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year and ranked 12th in the conference with a .342 batting average.
Coleman earned her first career Academic All-State honor this year as an environmental studies major. She was awarded the top junior student-athlete award from Spider Athletics this spring with the highest cumulative GPA among all juniors. She has played in nine games in her Spider career and 23 total in her collegiate career after transferring in from Presbyterian after freshman season.
Tierney picks up her fist career Academic All-State honor as a liberal arts major. She was an Atlantic 10 All-Rookie team selection after starting all 11 games this season. He paced the team with 57 draw controls, was second in goals with 22 and assists with 16. She ranked second in the nation as a freshman in the shortened 2020 season with 24 goals.
O'Shaughnessy added Academic All-State honors as a psychology major after earning top honors from Spider Athletics with the highest GPA among all sophomores this year. She was a key piece of the Spiders' Atlantic 10 Conference Championship team this spring, setting two school records in the 200 butterfly and the 400 freestyle relay. She helped the 200 medley relay team to a second place finish and won a bronze medal in the 100 butterfly.
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Senior men's golf student-athlete Michael Baker (Concord, N.C.), senior women's lacrosse student-athlete Rachel Ziemba (Cazenovia, N.Y.), graduate baseball student-athlete Drew Blakely (Galesburg, Md.), junior soccer student-athlete Taylor Coleman (Indian Trail, N.C.), sophomore women's lacrosse student-athlete Arden Tierney (Port Washington, N.Y.) and sophomore swimming student-athlete Claire O'Shaughnessy (Laurel, Md.) were honored among the top in the state.
Baker earns his third Academic All-State honor of his career for the business administration major. He earned the Presidential Citation award for Spider Athletics, given to the senior male student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA. A three-time Academic All-Atlantic 10 selection, Baker was also named the Robins School of Business Scholar Athlete of the Year this season.
Ziemba earns her second-straight Academic All-State career honor as a biology major. She earned the Presidential Citation award for Spider Athletics, given to the senior female student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA. Ziemba was an A-10 All-Academic team selection this season. She was third on the team with 15 assists, including a single-game record eight assists against George Mason.
Blakely was named Academic All-State after earning the athletics department's award for highest GPA in graduate school this year. He was an Academic All-Atlantic 10 Conference selection this season as a non-profit studies major. A team captain, Blakely was one of 16 semifinalists for the Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year and ranked 12th in the conference with a .342 batting average.
Coleman earned her first career Academic All-State honor this year as an environmental studies major. She was awarded the top junior student-athlete award from Spider Athletics this spring with the highest cumulative GPA among all juniors. She has played in nine games in her Spider career and 23 total in her collegiate career after transferring in from Presbyterian after freshman season.
Tierney picks up her fist career Academic All-State honor as a liberal arts major. She was an Atlantic 10 All-Rookie team selection after starting all 11 games this season. He paced the team with 57 draw controls, was second in goals with 22 and assists with 16. She ranked second in the nation as a freshman in the shortened 2020 season with 24 goals.
O'Shaughnessy added Academic All-State honors as a psychology major after earning top honors from Spider Athletics with the highest GPA among all sophomores this year. She was a key piece of the Spiders' Atlantic 10 Conference Championship team this spring, setting two school records in the 200 butterfly and the 400 freestyle relay. She helped the 200 medley relay team to a second place finish and won a bronze medal in the 100 butterfly.
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Players Mentioned
/ Men's Golf
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/ Baseball
D
/ Women's Soccer
S
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
A
/ Women's Lacrosse
A
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