COSAM's Mustang Athletes Are Scholastic Standouts
March, 2011 COSAM E-Newsletter
SAN LUIS OBISPO -- Biology graduate student Rachel Clancy was named the NCAA's Big West Player of the Year in Women's Basketball in March. It was the second top honor of the season for Clancy, who also recently received NCAA's Academic All-America team honors.
Clancy was named to the Big West Conference 2010-11 Scholar Athletes of the year in March. A native of Limerick, Ireland, she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Biological Sciences in 2010 and is a standout with the Cal Poly women’s basketball team. She ranks in the top 10 in the Big West in scoring, field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentage and three-pointers made per game. Clancy made the Dean’s List in eight of her nine terms as a undergraduate and is now working on her post graduate degree in Biological Sciences.
Clancy volunteers for Special Olympics and Habitat for Humanity, and reads to elementary school students. She also has been a member of the Irish national program and youth European Championship squads since age 13.
Clancy grew into a team standout after transferring to Cal Poly. She's been the center of sports profiles this quarter for stepping up to lead team victories after the injury of another player. Her sports profiles mention she likes to read forensic science textbooks in her spare time.
Read a SLO Tribune interview with Clancy
On the court and at Cal Poly, Clancy is following in the footsteps of another biology grad and basketball standout: Alumna Laura Buehning.
In her three years as a varsity basketball starter, Buehning set 27 school records and averaged more than 20 points a game. She was an All-League performer for three years, was recognized as the Most Valuable Player in the CCAA and was selected to represent the USA team for the Jones Cup played in Taiwan. She received All-American status in 1981 and was also recognized as an Academic All-American in 1982 with a 3.95 GPA in Biology.
Buehning went on to receive her M.D. degree from University of California, San Diego, after her time at Cal Poly. She is presently a dermatologist in a group practice in San Diego and is also an Associate Clinical Professor at the University of California, San Diego, medical school. Buehning was inducted into the Cal Poly Athletics Hall of Fame in 1989.
More Academic Honors for COSAM Athletes
The roster of this year's COSAM Scholar Athletes also includes seniors Michael Anderson and James Chen of the Mustang football team, and junior Wes Feighner of Men's Soccer.
Anderson is a kinesiology major and Chen a microbiology major. Both were named to the NCAA's Great West Conference All-Academic Team for the 2010 season.
Read a profile of Chen in Cal Poly Magazine
Feighner, a three-year letter winner on the Cal Poly men’s soccer team, was named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Division I All-Far West Regional Second Team in 2010. A kinesiology major, Feighner has participated in multiple community soccer camps and plans to attend graduate school after earning his Cal Poly degree.
