Hardy Heads Husker Trio of Graduates

Lincoln - Kiera Hardy, a three-first first-team All-Big 12 Conference selection and a 2007 WNBA Draft pick, joined former Husker women's basketball teammates Elena Diaz and Ivana Drmanac in earning undergraduate degrees from the University of Nebraska during commencement exercises at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Saturday.

Hardy, a native of Kansas City, Mo., completed her degree as a family and consumer science major in four years from Nebraska, after helping Coach Connie Yori's club build a successful program on the court. Hardy was unable to attend commencement ceremonies in Lincoln because of her professional commitments with the Connecticut Sun.

She closed her NU career as the school's all-time leader in three-pointers made with 267, while finishing No. 4 on the school's career scoring chart with 1,930 points in her four-year career. In 2007, she helped the Huskers to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2000.

Diaz, a native of Medellin, Colombia, added her degree as a Latin American studies major, a year after completing her two seasons in Lincoln as a part-time starter. Diaz transferred into Nebraska's program before the 2004-05 season from Dodge City (Kan.) Community College.

Drmanac, a finance major from Belgrade, Serbia, also completed her two years of eligibility at Nebraska following the 2005-06 season. She joined Diaz as a newcomer to the Husker program in 2004-05 after playing two seasons at Colby (Kan.) Community College.

The three Husker women's basketball graduates were among a talented and remarkably diverse group of Nebraska student-athletes receiving diplomas on Saturday.

The Huskers’ 53-member graduating class consisted of student-athletes from 20 U.S. states and five foreign countries, including Austria, Canada, Colombia, Poland and Serbia. All 23 of Nebraska’s varsity sports were represented by at least one student-athlete in the graduating class, while the Huskers graduated with nearly 30 different majors in their fields of study. While the class is strikingly diverse, 16 native Nebraskans made up nearly a third of the class.

Nebraska’s graduating class includes nine student-athletes who combined for 16 All-America awards, including 2006 NCAA air rifle champion Kristina Fehlings.

The spring graduating class of 53 is added to the December class of 31 graduates to bring the total number of Husker student-athletes graduating during the 2006-07 academic year to 84 before summer commencement exercises in August. Nebraska continues to feature one of the highest graduation rates in the nation with an exhausted eligibility graduation rate of 94 percent.