MORROW, Ga. – Clayton State University has announced the sixth class to be inducted into its Athletic Hall of Fame, a group that includes Nathalia Collantes of women's tennis, Joni Guffey of women's cross country and track & field, women's tennis' Viktoriya Semyrodenko and Eric Simmons of men's track & field.
 
This year's class represents seven All-American selections and multiple NCAA Tournament appearances from the 29-year history of the program and includes individuals that have brought distinction to Clayton State Athletics at the regional and national levels.
 
They will be inducted as the Class of 2019 and will be honored at the Athletic Hall of Fame Ceremony on Friday, February 15 at the Harry S. Downs Center for Education.

NOTE
Viktoriya Semyrodenko will be unable to attend the festivities this year due to unforeseen circumstances. She will be considered as part of the Class of 2019 but will be honored at a future Hall of Fame induction ceremony when she can attend and experience all that comes with that honor.

NATHALIA COLLANTES (Women's Tennis 2000-04)
A tremendous talent, Nathalia Collantes (Yarri) was an integral part of elevating Clayton State women's tennis to a national power during her four years as a Laker from 2000-04.
 
Teaming with now fellow Hall of Famer Jackeline Nieto, Collantes helped lead Clayton State to a 17-3 overall record in 2001 and the team's second NCAA Division II Tournament appearance. That season they would advance to the Sweet 16 after earning what is still the program's only Peach Belt Conference Regular Season Championship.
 
At a perfect 10-0 in league play, that championship was the only outright title by a team other than Armstrong State in an 18-year period. To put in perspective the jump that Collantes helped the Lakers make in just the program's sixth season, they had never before surpassed 12 wins and finished the 2001 season with a No. 10 overall national ranking.
 
They would follow that up with another NCAA Tournament appearance in 2002, going 16-8 overall, a stellar 9-1 in the PBC and another No. 10 ranking. While the 2003 and 2004 seasons would not see the same lofty win totals, it would result in a third trip in four years to the postseason and final national rankings of No. 16 and No. 12, respectively.
 
In those two years she also achieved tremendous national recognition as, paired with Nieto, she was twice named an Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-American in doubles. Along with those honors, Collantes was also named an All-PBC Selection six times, earning both singles and doubles recognition in 2002, 2003 and 2004. Additionally, she was named as an ITA "Player to Watch" in 2003.
 
During that season she and Nieto went an impressive 16-2 overall in doubles, winning their final 13 matches, and she was a perfect 16-0 in singles play, knocking off some of the top players in the country. The following season would see them go 12-2 together, including a win over Rollins' No. 4 doubles team.
 
Those performances and others like them throughout her career saw Collantes dominate the Laker record book. To this day she is still tied for the most singles wins in a season (23 in 2001 and 2004) and holds the highest singles winning percentage in program history at .815 (75-17). She and Nieto also hold down the season (20) and career (37) doubles victories marks and are second in overall doubles win percentage (.766, 72-22).
 
JONI GUFFEY (Women's Cross Country and Track & Field 1998-2002)
The first female All-American in program history, Joni Guffey (Gruwell) produced one of the most impressive careers over the course of her four years as a member of the cross country and track & field programs.
 
In cross country she set multiple program records, resetting both the 5k and 6k records twice each during the 2001 season. The 6k marks are still the ninth and 10^th fastest in program history 17 years later. Additionally she won four meets during her career and was named the team's Most Valuable Runner in 1998, 2000 and 2001.
 
Team recognition was far from her only such cross country honors, however, as she earned NCAA Division II All-Region honors with a sixth place finish in 2001 and picked up a pair of All-PBC honors in 1999 and 2001. The latter would come off of a third place championship finish and a 14^th place outing in 1999.
 
She would be just as accomplished on the track, if not more so. A record setter, Guffey would establish the program mark in the 800-meters in 2002 and see it stand up until eventually being broken in 2015 and also held outdoor marks in the 800-meters, distance medley relay and 4x800-meter relay. All of the latter were set in 2002 and stood for at least a decade.
 
It would be performances like that from that season that would help her make history as on May 25, 2002 she became the first female student-athlete to earn All-American honors. She would accomplish that feat by placing sixth in the 1,500-meters at the NCAA Division II National Championships in San Angelo, Texas.
 
As her accomplishments mounted on the course and track, Guffey built up just as impressive an academic resume over the course of her career. She would be a three-time United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic selection (1999-2001), named as a Verizon Academic All-District III choice (2001) and be a two-time honoree of the Clayton State Barfield Academic Award (2001, 2002).
 
The latter, representing the highest qualifying GPA, was presented to one individual out of all of Clayton State's student-athletes at that time. Hand-in-hand with the way she went about her business, Guffey also earned the 2002 Laker Award as the top student-athlete at the institution. That award heavily weighted both academic excellence and academic success.
 
She would also go on to hold six track & field program records at the time of her graduation, which would see her at the top her class in accounting.
 
VIKTORIYA SEMYRODENKO (Women's Tennis 2007-11)
Following in a long line of highly successful women's tennis players, Viktoriya Semyrodenko firmly placed herself among that lineage during her four years at Clayton State from 2007-11.
 
A three-time ITA All-American, Semyrodenko finished her career with an overall singles record of 65-17 and still ranks third all-time in winning percentage at .793. She also ranks in the Top-10 in doubles twice, coming in third with Ivana Krommelova at .714 (25-10) and tied for sixth with Katie White at .600 (18-12).
 
Her first All-American honor would come with White in doubles in 2009 when the tandem finished ninth in the country and fourth in the highly competitive NCAA Division II Southeast Region with a record of 10-6. Additionally, they won the ITA Regional Championship earlier that fall and advanced to the national championships of that field.
 
It would be a double dip in 2011 when Semyrodenko not only paired with Krommelova for All-American doubles honors but also collected that same recognition for her play in singles. In the latter she was No. 12 in the country, finishing with a sterling record of 16-6, and went 17-6 in doubles to earn her third All-American recognition.
 
Semyrodenko helped lead Clayton State women's tennis to the most successful era in its history, making the NCAA Division II Tournament all four years and compiling a record of 67-29. The Lakers 2008 record of 20-6 still stands as the most wins in a single season for the team while the 2010 squad became just the second to reach the national quarterfinals.
 
It would be that 2011 season that would truly set Semyrodenko and her teammates apart, however, as they went 18-8 and made a run to the NCAA Division II Final Four. That season they blew past Wingate and Columbus State by scores of 5-1 and 5-2, respectively, before shutting out Queens (N.Y.) by a 5-0 score in the third round.
 
On May 12, Semyrodenko and the Lakers downed California (Pa.) 5-3 to become the first team in women's tennis program history to punch their ticket to the Final Four before eventually falling 5-0 to a tremendous Lynn team.
 
Over the course of her career the native of Ukraine helped lead Clayton State to final national rankings in each of her four seasons, never lower than 12^th. The 2008 season would see them ranked No. 7 and then No. 9 the following year before 11^th and 12 place finishes in 2010 and 2011.
 
Individually she finished nationally ranked five times in her career, coming in No. 9 in doubles in 2009 and No. 15 in singles and No. 7 in doubles in 2011. She was also No. 19 in doubles and 40^th in singles in 2010. On top of that she was a four-time All-PBC selection, earning First-Team doubles honors in 2009, Second-Team in singles in 2010 and First-Team singles and Second-Team doubles as a senior in 2011.
 
ERIC SIMMONS (Men's Track & Field 2003-08)
A fixture in Clayton State men's track & field for near a decade, Eric Simmons accomplished things in his career that no other individual has in program history – for any sport.
 
A member of Laker track & field programs from 2003-08, Simmons is the only individual to qualify for seven NCAA Division II National Championships as a student-athlete. The only thing that stopped him from maxing out at eight was the simple fact that, when he first came to Clayton State, they did not yet have indoor track & field.
 
Rectified after his first season, Simmons would go on to qualify for the national championships every year that he could. Highlighting those trips was actually his very first appearance in 2004 as he competed with Rother Heard, Carlos Guyton and Brian Etelman in the 4x400-meter relay in Walnut, California.
 
That group would go on to finish sixth nationally with a time of 3:13.05 and earn the first All-American honors in men's track & field history.
 
A former program record holder in the 800-meters, it is one of the few records that Simmons set that has been broken in the decade since he last competed. In indoor competition he still holds marks in the 200- and 400-meters, notching times of 21.77 and 47.72, respectively, during the 2007 season. Along with that he was part of a 1,600-meter relay that posted a record time of 3:19.48 that same year.
 
An equal opportunity record breaker, Simmons still holds four marks on the outdoor side of the ledger. Those include the 400-meters (47.03 in 2008), 4x100-meter relay (40.81 in 2005), 4x200 (1:25.68 in 2005) and the 4x400 (3:11.24 in 2004).
 
In the midst of his final season, the native of nearby Carrollton, Georgia collected one of the highest honors of his career, that being named the 2008 Clayton State Laker Award Winner as the top overall student-athlete at the institution.
 
Following his career as a student-athlete, Simmons still continued to impact future Lakers as he served as a graduate assistant coach in 2010 and 2011 under head coach Mike Mead. Following his graduation he has gone on to serve as a Vice Principal at a school in Carrollton.
 
History
Established in 2013, the Clayton State Athletics Hall of Fame was created to honor former Laker student-athletes, coaches, administrators, faculty/staff and community members who have, by their outstanding achievements, contributed to the ideals of the Clayton State Department of Athletics. Including this year's honorees, the Clayton State Athletics Hall of Fame has named six classes and enshrined 19 former student-athletes, coaches, administrators and special inductees. This year's class of four will be inducted on Friday, February 15, bringing that total to 23 honorees.
 
Purchase Tickets Online for 2019 Hall of Fame Ceremony
For the fifth consecutive year, individuals will be able to purchase their Clayton State Athletics Hall of Fame Ceremony tickets online. Tickets for the event at 7 p.m. on Friday, February 15 are $60 each for general admission with tables of eight also available for $425.
 
A new option for this year's event is the VIP Pre-Hall of Fame reception from 6-7 p.m. Tickets for this event are available for $75 and include admission to the ceremony as well as a private get together with the inductees. This part of the event will include hors d'oeuvres and will be the only place that alcoholic beverages will be served during the evening. The purchase of a table of eight will also include this option in the cost.
 
Additionally, Clayton State faculty and staff will receive a discounted rate of $40 for the Hall of Fame Ceremony and children's tickets (ages 10-and-under) will be available for $25 apiece.
 
All ticket options can be purchased online at the following link: http://www.Clayton.edu/Homecoming/HoF. This year's Hall of Fame Ceremony will be held on campus at the Clayton State Harry S. Downs Continuing Education Center in Room 101.