Hooper Headlines Husker Graduates

Lincoln - A total of 55 Husker student-athletes led by first-team women's basketball All-American Jordan Hooper received their diplomas at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s commencement exercises at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Saturday morning.

Hooper, the 2014 Big Ten Player of the Year, earned her bachelor's degree in psychology in four years from Nebraska. The 6-2 forward from Alliance, Neb., was the No. 13 overall pick in the 2014 WNBA Draft and has averaged 7.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in a pair of exhibition starts for the Tulsa Shock. Tulsa opens the regular season at San Antonio on Saturday, May 17.

Hooper led the Huskers to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances and the 2014 Big Ten Tournament title while setting the Nebraska record with 295 career three-pointers. She also tied NU’s record with 40 career double-doubles while ranking No. 2 in school history in both points (2,357) and rebounds (1,110). Former Huskers Meghin Williams and Katie Simon also completed their degrees.

Four football players from Coach Bo Pelini’s Husker program, headlined by wide receiver Quincy Enunwa, also filled the strong group of Husker graduates. Walker Ashburn, Corey Cooper and Brodrick Nickens rounded out the group.

Coach Gary Pepin’s men’s and women’s track and field program made up the bulk of the graduating class. A total of 18 track and field student-athletes earned diplomas, including 2014 Nebraska Male Student-Athlete of the Year Seth Wiedel. On the women’s side, Mara Griva headlined the list of graduates. The nine-time All-American and nine-time conference champion in the horizontal jumps from Riga, Latvia earned her degree as a dual major in management and marketing. Fellow Latvian Janis Leitis also claimed his degree in exercise physiology and nutrition. A three-time All-American and two-time conference champion in the horizontal jumps, Leitis represented Latvia in the 2012 Olympics. Travis Englund and Anna Weigandt added Big Ten champions to the track and field team’s graduating class, while Bobby Carter pitched in an All-America honor. In all, the Husker track and field graduates combined for 13 first- or second-team All-America awards and 13 conference titles in their careers.

Coach Tim Miles’ Nebraska men’s basketball program is represented by a pair of graduates, including Beatrice native Trevor Menke, who earned his degree in social science education. Former Husker Bernard Garner, who played the 1996 and 1997 seasons for former coach Danny Nee, completed his degree in child, youth and family studies.

Coach Pablo Morales’ Nebraska swimming and diving program added a strong group of six graduates to the Husker class, including Ellan Dufour, Amy Herman, Bailey Pons, Mary Beth Rye, Kristin Strecker and Kaitlan Walker. Coach John Walker’s Nebraska soccer program pitched in four graduates, including Stacy Bartels, Kylie Greischar, Ashley Hick and Amy Swearer.

Coach Darin Erstad’s baseball program featured three graduates, led by current Huskers Luke Bublitz  and Ty Kildow from Omaha. Former Husker Bryan Peters also earned his degree.

A trio of women’s gymnasts from Coach Dan Kendig’s program claimed their degrees, including five-time All-American Janelle Giblin and two-time All-American Brittany Skinner, along with Deanna Barmore. Three men’s gymnastics from Coach Chuck Chmelka’s squad also earned degrees, including Donovan Arndt, Mark Ringle and NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship winner Eric Schryver.

Professional golfer Scott Gutschewski, a three-year letterman who led the Huskers to the best season in school history with a top-15 finish at the 1999 NCAA Championships, completed his degree from Nebraska. Michael Siwa also represented Coach Bill Spangler’s program. All-American Janine Dutton and 2014 senior Sunny Russell represented Coach Stacy Underwood’s Nebraska rifle program well in the Husker graduating class.

Coach Rhonda Revelle’s Nebraska softball team contributed one graduate from its 2013 Women’s College World Series team with former Husker infielder Gabby Banda. The Nebraska wrestling team (Caleb Kolb), men’s tennis team (Sebastian Florczyk), women’s tennis team (Maike Zeppernick) and bowling team (Yan Ling Tan) also contributed graduates.

NU’s May 2014 graduates came from near and far to call Nebraska home during their careers. The group came to Lincoln from 13 states, including 22 native Nebraskans. Members of the graduating class also came from five foreign countries, including Canada, Germany, Hungary, Latvia and Singapore.

Nebraska continues to feature one of the highest graduation rates in the country, while leading the nation in the number of CoSIDA Academic All-Americans (310) and NCAA Top 10 Award winners (17) across all sports. 

May 2014 Nebraska Student-Athlete Graduates (55)

Student-Athlete (Sport) Hometown (Major)

• Arndt, Donovan (Men’s Gymnastics) Waterford, Wis. (Marketing)
• Ashburn, Walker (Football) Kenner, La. (Communication Studies)
• Banda, Gabby (Softball) Angleton, Texas (Child, Youth & Family Studies)
• Barmore, Deanna (Women’s Gymnastics) Omaha, Neb. (Nutrition, Exercise & Health Science)
• Bartels, Stacy (Soccer) Omaha, Neb. (Elementary Education)
• Bublitz, Luke (Baseball) Thorton, Colo. (Nutrition Science)
• Carter, Bobby (Track & Field) Lee’s Summit, Mo. (Broadcasting)
• Cooper, Corey (Football) Maywood, Ill. (Ethnic Studies)
• Dougherty, Ellen (Track & Field/Cross Country) Moville, Iowa (Business Administration)
• Dufour, Ellan (Swimming & Diving) Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada (Fisheries and Wildlife)
• Dutton, Janine (Rifle) Eagle River, Alaska (Geology)
• Englund, Travis (Track & Field) Grand Island, Neb. (Psychology)
• Enunwa, Quincy (Football) Moreno Valley, Calif. (Economics)
• Florczyk, Sebastian (Men’s Tennis) Friedrichsdorf, Germany (Accounting/Business Administration)
• Garner, Bernard (Men’s Basketball) Many, La. (Child, Youth & Family Studies)
• Giblin, Janelle (Women’s Gymnastics) San Ramon, Calif. (Nutrition Science)
• Greischar, Kylie (Soccer) Overland Park, Kan. (Communication Studies)
• Griess, Jake (Track & Field) Grand Island, Neb. (Psychology)
• Griva, Mara (Track & Field) Ventspils, Latvia (Management/Marketing)
• Grizzle, Veronica (Track & Field) DeSoto, Kan. (Broadcasting/Film Studies)
• Gutschewski, Scott (Men’s Golf) Omaha, Neb. (PGA Golf Management)
• Herman, Amy (Swimming & Diving) Lincoln, Neb. (Nutrition, Exercise & Health Science/Dietetics)
• Hick, Ashley (Soccer) Omaha, Neb. (Psychology)
• Hooper, Jordan (Women’s Basketball) Alliance, Neb. (Psychology)
• Jackson, Annie (Track & Field) Tekamah, Neb. (Agricultural Economics)
• Kildow, Ty (Baseball) Omaha, Neb. (Biological Sciences)
• Kolb, Caleb (Wrestling) Grove City, Pa. (Communication Studies)
• Koroknai, Tibor (Track & Field) Debrecen, Hungary (Electrical Engineering)
• Leitis, Janis (Track & Field) Riga, Latvia (Exercise Physiology & Nutrition)
• Lloyd, Mary (Track & Field) San Diego, Calif. (Hospitality, Restaurant & Tourism Management)
• Menke, Trevor (Men’s Basketball) Beatrice, Neb. (Social Science Education)
• Minnick, Anna (Track & Field) Omaha, Neb. (Art Education K-12)
• Mostoller, Kara (Track & Field) Fredonia, Pa. (Nutrition, Exercise & Health Science)
• Nickens, Brodrick (Football) Alliance, Neb. (Communication Studies)
• Peters, Bryan (Baseball) Fort Collins, Colo. (Civil Engineering)
• Plambeck, Sarah (Track & Field/Cross Country) Lincoln, Neb. (Nutrition, Exercise & Health Science)
• Pons, Bailey (Swimming & Diving) Cedar Falls, Iowa (English/Geology)
• Ringle, Mark (Men’s Gymnastics) San Ramon, Calif. (Nutrition Science)
• Russell, Sunny (Rifle) Stratford, Texas (Child, Youth & Family Studies)
• Rye, Mary Beth (Swimming & Diving) Lincoln, Neb. (Communication Studies)
• Scharton, Marcella (Track & Field) Lincoln, Neb. (Mechanized Systems Management)
• Schryver, Eric (Men’s Gymnastics) Richardson, Texas (Nutrition Science)
• Simon, Katie (Women’s Basketball) Roseville, Calif. (Business Administration)
• Skinner, Brittany (Women’s Gymnastics) Los Altos, Calif. (Psychology)
• Siwa, Michael (Men’s Golf) Omaha, Neb. (Accounting)
• Strecker, Kristin (Swimming & Diving) Topeka, Kan. (Biological Sciences)
• Swearer, Amy (Soccer) Lincoln, Neb. (Criminology & Criminal Justice)
• Tan, Yan Ling (Bowling) Singapore (Management)
• Vidlak, Trevor (Track & Field/Cross Country) Lincoln, Neb. (Management)
• Walker, Kaitlan (Swimming & Diving) Albuquerque, N.M. (Textiles, Merchandising & Fashion Design)
• Weigandt, Anna (Track & Field) Gretna, Neb. (Advertising & Public Relations)
• Welch, Lauren (Track & Field) Papillion, Neb. (Animal Science)
• Wiedel, Seth (Track & Field) Hebron, Neb. (Accounting)
• Williams, Meghin (Women’s Basketball) Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. (Broadcasting)
• Zeppernick, Maike (Women’s Tennis) Hamburg, Germany (Economics)