BATON ROUGE, La. – The Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes honored six student-athletes for their academic achievements and community service for the month of September.
Each month, five student-athletes are recognized for their academic improvement, dedication and proven ability. In addition, one student-athlete is chosen through LSU’s Student-Athlete Affairs program for their volunteerism and commitment to the community.
September’s student-athletes of the month are Summer Clarke [Soccer], Sahvanna Jaquish [Softball], Rashard Lawrence [Football], Skylar Mays [Men’s Basketball] and Thomas Smith [Swimming and Diving]. Sydney Ewing [Gymnsatics] was selected as the Shaquille O’Neal Life Skills Program Student-Athlete of the Month.
Clarke and Ewing are kinesiology majors; Jaquish is a sport administration major; Lawrence is undeclared; Mays is a biology major and Smith is an information systems and decision science major.
A native of Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, senior forward Clarke reestablished herself as one of the top strikers in college soccer with her performance as a junior in 2015. She earned second team All-SEC honors after ending the season as the team’s second-leading scorer with seven goals and a career-high five assists for 19 points on the year.
Jaquish is a senior catcher and infielder who started all but one of LSU’s 70 games as a junior. The Highland, California, native tied her school record with 76 RBIs on the season, which was fifth nationally and set the new school record for multi-RBI games in a season with 23.
Freshman defensive tackle Lawrence has competed in two games for the Tigers this season. He hails from Monroe, Louisiana, where he was one of the top defenders in high school football in 2015 and was rated as the nation’s No. 21 player according to scout and the No. 1 player in Louisiana by ESPN.
Mays is a freshman guard from Baton Rouge who played four seasons at University High School (grades 8-11) where he averaged 7.2 assists per game. He had 888 asssits during his career with 295 steals and only 367 turnovers. The guard elected to transfer to Findlay Prep in Nevada for his senior season where he averaged 10.9 points per game, 5.3 assists per game and 3.0 rebounds per game.
Sophomore backstroker Smith set the school record in the 200-backstroke at the Art Adamson Invitational in his first season with the Tigers. The Huntington Beach, California, native was also an Olympic Trial qualifier for 2016 and reached the championship final of the 200-backstroke at the SEC Championships where he finished seventh.
Ewing was selected as the Shaquille O’Neal Life Skills Program Student-Athlete of the Month for her dedication to the community, participating in numerous service events throughout her LSU career. The senior all-arounder from Lafayette, Louisiana, is a four time All-American who is an outstanding contributor on vault, beam and floor who will serve as a team leader in 2017. She finished the regular season ranked 10th nationally on vault and is a consistent performer who competes at a high level as she’s earned All-America honors on each of her three events: vault, beam and floor.
For putting forth extra effort in the classroom and community in addition to their rigorous academic and competition schedules, these six student-athletes will have their pictures displayed on the wall in the Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes.
The Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes is a 54,000 square foot facility comprised of an academic affairs, student affairs and an information technology team, serving more than 530 student-athletes. The purpose is to provide an all-inclusive, student-centered support structure for all student-athletes from matriculation, through graduation and life beyond.