Claudio Correa (men’s golf) and Kitija Laksa (women’s basketball) will be honored during the Sports Club of Tampa Bay Hall of Fame Induction Banquet Wednesday
TAMPA, MARCH 25, 2019 – Record-setting USF women’s basketball superstar Kitija Laksa (Riga, Latvia) and two-time PING All-America honorable mention men’s golfer Claudio Correa (Santiago, Chile) are being recognized for their incredible contributions during the 2018 calendar year that helped strengthen the Bulls’ presence on the national college sports platform.
Correa and Laksa will be honored as the 2018 USF Male and Female Student-Athletes of the Year at the 36th annual Sports Club of Tampa Bay Hall of Fame Induction Banquet on Wednesday, March 27. The prestigious event will take place at TPepin’s Hospitality Centre from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Proceeds from the banquet help support Boys and Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay and youth sports throughout the region.
“We are so proud of the accomplishments of Claudio and Kitija, not only during the 2018 season but over the course of their outstanding careers in Green and Gold,” USF Vice President of Athletics Michael Kelly said. “They both led their teams to tremendous success and are shining examples of what USF student-athletes can achieve. We thank the Sports Club of Tampa Bay for honoring them during this prestigious annual event.”
This year’s Hall of Fame class will include John Crumbley, Gene Deckerhoff, Ricky Gallon, John Lynch and Martin St Louis while Phil Esposito will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award. USF Male and Female Student-Athletes of the Year were chosen for their accomplishments during the 2018 spring and fall seasons.
Laksa will join distinguished company at the banquet following her memorable 2017-2018 season that saw the then-junior wing earn WBCA All-America honorable mention and all-conference first team accolades for the second straight season. The Latvian Senior National Team member set her first of two NCAA records last season by sinking 11 consecutive three-pointers in a 40-point performance against Southern University. Laksa etched her name in the NCAA record book once again by setting the new single-season free throw percentage mark of 96.5 percent after going 111-for-115 from the charity stripe.
“I’m really glad the Tampa Bay Sports Club has recognized her with this great honor,” USF head coach Jose Fernandez said. “She’s very appreciative of that as well.”
Laksa was the only player in NCAA Division I in 2017-18 to put together two 40-point performances and she also added five 30-point games and 18 games with at least 20 points. The five-time national player of the week honoree led the Bulls with 21.1 points per game and broke USF’s junior single-season scoring record with 717 points, a mark that ranks second overall on the Bulls’ all-time season scoring list.
Laksa expanded her all-around game in 2017-18 by setting career highs with 44 assists and 22 steals on top of grabbing 115 rebounds. She also set her new USF season best with 126 three-pointers, including eight made long-range attempts during her career-high 41-point performance in a win over No. 13 Ohio State on Feb. 11, 2018. Those accomplishments helped Laksa earn WBCA All-Region 3 honors for the second time and become an Ann Meyers Drysdale Award finalist as one of the top players in the nation during her junior season.
“She’s just not a shooter. She was able to create off the bounce. Her defense got better, she rebounded better and she got more teammates involved,” Fernandez said. “That’s what you want to see as a basketball player progresses through a career and she’s established herself as one of the best players in the country.”
Laksa also shined in the classroom last season on the way to earning 2018 American Athletic Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors. She will graduate with her bachelor’s degree in psychology.
“She’s been a great representative on and off the floor for our team,” Fernandez said.
Laksa’s other on-court accomplishments last season included becoming the second-fastest player in program history to score 1,000 career points, reaching the milestone in just 63 games. The three-time all-conference selection currently ranks sixth on the USF career scoring list with 1,764 points after suffering a 2018-19 season-ending injury three contests into the campaign. Prior to her injury, Laksa was named to the Wade, Wooden, Naismith and Drysdale Preseason Watch Lists. She also was a candidate for the Senior CLASS Award this season before her injury.
“She’s done an amazing job here,” Fernandez said.
The same can be said for Correa, who became a two-time PING All-America honorable mention after leading the Bulls to their fourth consecutive American Athletic Conference Championship title in wire-to-wire fashion in spring 2018. As a senior, Correa captured the league tournament’s individual crown with a three-shot victory before being named the 2018 American Athletic Conference Player of the Year and a unanimous all-conference selection.
Correa, a three-time PING All-Southeast Region Team member, led the Bulls last season with six top-10 finishes and 11 top-25 performances after tying for 14th place at the NCAA Kissimmee Regional. Correa’s 2017-18 season scoring average of 71.14 ranks second in the school record books and he owns a share of the program season record with 23 rounds of par or better. Correa’s impressive performances helped USF match the program season record of five tournament title victories ahead of the Bulls’ sixth straight NCAA Regional appearance.
“Claudio has worked extremely hard to get himself in a situation where he could have earned these honors,” USF head coach Steve Bradley said. “All kudos and credit to him for his work ethic and what he’s done to improve his game.”
In addition to becoming a two-time PING All-American honorable mention, Correa was rewarded for his work in the classroom with Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar honors by the Golf Coaches Association of America last summer. Correa graduated from USF with a degree in business management.
A three-time all-conference selection and The American’s Freshman of the Year in 2015, Correa will always be remembered in the USF record books. Even after graduating, Correa ranks second in school history with three career title victories and first in career rounds played (146), career counting scores (130), career birdies (509), career eagles (18), season rounds played (42, 2015-16) and season counting scores (36, 2015-16).
Correa also owns the program’s 72-hole scoring record with a 4-under 284 at the 2015 NCAA Men’s Division I Golf Championship, where the Bulls advanced to the match play quarterfinals for the first time in school history.
“It’s been an absolute privilege to have him on the team with the way he is with his teammates, recruits and the way he conducts himself in the classroom, on the course and in life,” Bradley said. “He embodies what you want in a student-athlete on the golf team.”
About USF Athletics
USF Athletics sponsors 19 varsity men’s and women’s teams that compete in 11 different sports, 18 at the NCAA Division I level in the American Athletic Conference. The Bulls’ athletic program began in 1965 and is in its 53rd season in 2018-19. Nearly 500 student-athletes train and compete in the athletic district located on the east end of the campus in Tampa, Fla. The Bulls have claimed 16 American Athletic Conference team titles since joining the conference in 2013, including at least three in each of the last three seasons, and own 113 conference championships overall. Nine USF programs reached national post-season competition in the 2017-18 season and six were ranked in the Top 25 nationally. The Bulls posted a combined annual grade-point average over 3.0 for the third straight year in 2017-18 and have posted a program record seven straight semesters with a combined GPA over 3.0. USF has seen more than 180 student-athletes earn their degree in the last two years.
–Go Bulls–
Brian Siegrist
Associate AD–Communications
University of South Florida
