Nicole Stafford Experience: 1985-99

Nicole Stafford-Lake came to Clemson with great expectations and delivered early in her career with two Atlantic Coast Conference titles and an All-America honor in 1985, her freshman year.

The tennis star was the ACC Champion at the number-three singles position and at the number-two doubles slot. In the conference tournament she only went to three sets in her championship singles match. The doubles team did not lose a set. Stafford-Lake was 9-1 in ACC singles matches and had a 35-14 overall singles record that year. She finished her freshman campaign ranked 51st in the nation. The Tigers were crowned ACC Champions and were ranked 19th in the final poll.

Stafford-Lake was one of four freshmen to contribute heavily during the 1985 season. "Given that we were so young and inexperienced, the success was unexpected, but exciting," she recalls.

The team won its fifth consecutive ACC title in 1986 and finished the season ranked eighth in the country. Stafford-Lake secured her third ACC championship, individually and as part of the team title, in 1987. She and Ingelise Driehuis won the trophy as the ACC's number-one doubles team. They were both named to the All-ACC team and earned All-America honors. The duo had a 27-12 record for the season and was ranked #15 in the polls.

Stafford-Lake's senior year came to an abrupt conclusion. She suffered a hairline fracture in her back right before the ACC Tournament. The Gainesville, FL native was unable to add to her already remarkable list of accomplishments in the post season due to the injury.

She completed her career with a 101-50 overall singles record, still the sixth most victories in Clemson history. She and Driehuis' nine wins in 1987 are the most three-set matches won as a team for a single season. Stafford-Lake is also listed among the top 10 in eight other statistical categories. In her three ACC Tournaments, she did not lose a single match. She participated in the NCAA Singles Tournament in 1985, 1986 and 1987 and the team finished ranked in the top 25 nationally in all four years that she was a Tiger. Stafford-Lake was named to the ACC's 50th Anniversary team in 2003.

Her best memories were the experiences of being a student-athlete and the friendships made with other athletes. She remembers the support of the men's soccer team and the players' unknowledgeable, yet enthusiastic, cheering.

Stafford-Lake, now a nurse at the Georgetown Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and her husband Barry Lake live in Alexandria, VA.