Johansen Leads List of Three Husker Graduates

Lincoln - The Nebraska women's basketball team will contribute three former players to a talented collection of 60 University of Nebraska student-athletes, including 11 individual All-Americans across NU’s men’s and women’s athletic programs, scheduled to graduate during spring commencement ceremonies on Saturday at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

Jina Johansen, a three-time first-team academic All-Big 12 selection and an honorable-mention All-Big 12 pick on the floor as a senior, headlines a trio of Husker women's basketball players graduating.  Johansen, a 5-7 point guard from Dannebrog, Neb., was a standout on the court, in the classroom and in the community during her four-year career at Nebraska. 

Johansen closed her career with nearly a 3.7 grade-point average as a nutrition and dietetics major and was an eight-time selection to the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll.  On the court, she enjoyed the best season of her career in 2004-05, leading the Huskers to their second straight trip to the postseason while ranking third in the Big 12 and 16th nationally with 6.0 assists per game.  She set a senior single-season school record with 191 assists and closed her career ranked No. 2 on NU's all-time assist chart.

She was also a leader in community service for the Huskers, helping NU win the Nebraska Athletic Department's first Life Skills Award team competition in 2003-04 for the program's overall commitment to giving back to the community.

"Jina is a great example of what a student-athlete should be," Nebraska Coach Connie Yori said.  "She has been a great role model for kids in across the state and younger players in our program."

Johansen has already made her post-graduation plans, accepting a graduate assistant coaching position at South Dakota State University.  The Huskers will open the 2005-06 regular-season schedule against SDSU at the Devaney Center on Nov. 19.

Johansen will be joined in graduation ceremonies by 2003-04 senior Katie Morse.  The 6-4 center from Minden, Iowa, will earn her degree in secondary education after earning a pair of first-team academic All-Big 12 honors during her four-year NU career.  Morse ended her Husker career ranked No. 4 on the school's career block chart and owns the NU single-game record with seven blocks against Texas A&M on Jan. 17, 2004.

Morse was an eight-time Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll member and a two-time Husker Power Lifter of the Year for women's basketball.

Former Husker Lacey Hanson rounds out the women's basketball program's graduating class.  A native of Omaha and a graduate of Ralston High School, Hanson was a walk-on to the program during Coach Connie Yori's first season at Nebraska in 2002-03.  Hanson, a marketing major, appeared in 19 games for the Huskers and earned a scholarship for her second semester on the team as a sophomore. 

Overall the Husker graduating class, which is made up of student-athletes from 18 U.S. states and four foreign countries, is one of the largest in recent memory from the Nebraska Athletic Department and features representatives from nearly all of the Huskers’ 23 varsity programs. The Nebraska football team will produce 14 graduates, while the men’s and women’s track and field/cross country programs will add 13 graduates. The Husker baseball team will add six graduates to the list, including four players (Jeremy Becker, Jesse Boyer, Curtis Ledbetter, Dustin Timm) who will be participating in NU’s weekend baseball series at Hawks Field with Missouri on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Two former Husker baseball players (Justin Cowan, John Grose) will also earn their diplomas on Saturday.

Six men’s track and field student-athletes who are graduating on Saturday (Jesse Colburn, Kyle Doperalski, Kyle Goerl, Nenad Loncar, Tim Williams, Paul Wilson) will also be competing later in the day at the Nebraska Invitational at the Ed Weir Outdoor Track and Field Stadium. Three former men’s track athletes (Eric Eshbach, Kevin Johnson, Brad Teeple), will also earn their degrees, along with four former women’s track standouts (Authea Chambers, Ineta Radevica, Na’Tassia Vice, Michele Witter).

The Nebraska football program’s 14-player graduating class includes Dan Burrow, Sandro DeAngelis, Mike Erickson, Jared Helming, Joel Jackson, Dusty Keiser, Mike McLaughlin, Lornell McPherson, Jack O’Holleran, Barrett Ruud, Benard Thomas, Kiffin Wigert, Delrick Williams and Ben Zajicek.

Wrestling (Jason High, Nathan McClain, Dusty Spaulding, B.J. Wright), women’s gymnastics (Gina Bruce, Tiffany Byrd, Tami Harris, Richelle Simpson), women’s basketball (Jina Johansen, Katie Morse, Lacey Hanson), softball (Peaches James, Nicole Trimboli, Brittney Yolo), men’s gymnastics (Jeff Kelly, Josh Koopman), women’s tennis (Katie Garcia, Stacey Tomkiewicz), men’s basketball (Jake Muhleisen), volleyball (Anna Schrad), women’s golf (Stephanie Schaefer), men’s tennis (Ryan Jay), women’s bowling (Shannon Pluhowsky) and rifle (Laura Johnson) will also be represented during Saturday’s graduation ceremony. The former men’s swimming and diving program will also contribute two student-athletes (Barrett Brandon, Steven Wiltgen) to the Class of 2005.

Along with its impressive size, the 60-member graduating class also features illustrious individual and team accomplishments among its graduates, who combined to win 40 All-America awards, nine individual national titles and two national team titles at NU.

Nebraska Associate Athletic Director for Academic Programs and Student Services Dennis Leblanc said the May 2005 graduating class consists of strong examples of student-athletes who have the ability to excel in the classroom, in the community and in competition.

"I truly admire each one of these Nebraska student-athletes for the way they have balanced school with competition," Leblanc said. "These 60 graduates add to Nebraska’s tradition of student-athletes performing at the highest level in academics and athletics. This is a special group of people who came from all across the globe to get an education and represent the University of Nebraska in their sport. The athletic department, the University and the entire state of Nebraska should be proud."

The seven female All-Americans in the graduating class combined for a staggering 32 All-America certificates and five individual national titles, while also earning outstanding classroom accomplishments. Senior women’s gymnast Richelle Simpson certainly did her share to bring glory to the graduating class. A nine-time All-American and the 2003 NCAA all-around and floor exercise champion, Simpson was named the 2005 Nebraska Female Student-Athlete of the Year in April. A three-time NACGC Scholastic All-American, Simpson also earned a prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship in late-April, after becoming Nebraska’s first-ever recipient of the AAI American Award, one of the top honors in collegiate gymnastics.

Simpson is not alone in representing the women’s gymnastics program, as four-time All-American Tami Harris and two-time All-American Gina Bruce will join Simpson and Tiffany Byrd in graduation ceremonies.

While the women’s gymnastics team will carry 15 All-America awards across the graduation platform, the women’s track and field team is nearly as successful. Former Huskers Ineta Radevica and Na’Tassia Vice combined for 13 All-America awards and a trio of national titles, highlighted by Radevica’s 11 All-America certificates and three crowns during her time at Nebraska.

Three-time All-America soccer player Christine Latham, All-America pitcher Peaches James and bowler Shannon Pluhowsky round out an impressive list of athletic accomplishments claimed by the female graduates. Pluhowsky was a three-time U.S. Amateur champion, was the MVP of the 2004 NCAA Championships and led the Huskers to the first two NCAA bowling titles in history.

Former Husker volleyball standout Anna Schrad contributed CoSIDA Academic All-America recognition during her time at Nebraska, providing an even longer list of national caliber accomplishments to the group.

On the men’s side, the four All-Americans combined for eight All-America awards and one national championship, led by men’s track and field student-athlete Eric Eshbach, who was a five-time All-American and a national champion as a pole vaulter. Another Husker pole vaulter, Brad Teeple, added an All-America award of his own. Former Husker and professional baseball player Justin Cowan also produced impressive athletic accomplishments before earning his bachelor’s degree from Nebraska, along with All-America linebacker Barrett Ruud, who was chosen in the second round of the 2005 NFL Draft.

In addition to Ruud, other Husker football players who signed contracts with NFL teams for the coming year before earning their diplomas include Mike Erickson, Lornell McPherson and Benard Thomas. A fifth Husker football player, Jared Helming, will earn his bachelor’s degree on Saturday and play the 2005 season with his degree in hand.

Senior Katie Garcia, a Lincoln native who helped the Nebraska women’s tennis team make history by earning its first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament earlier in the week, will also earn her degree on Saturday.

The spring graduating class of 60 is added to the December class of 28 graduates to bring the total number of Husker student-athletes graduating during the 2004-05 academic year to 88. Nebraska continues to feature one of the highest graduation rates in the nation with an exhausted eligibility graduation rate of 91 percent.