Ohio State Student-Athletes Receive Degrees at Spring Commencement – Ohio State Buckeyes
6/15/2007 12:00:00 AM | General
COLUMBUS, Ohio Eighty-three current and former Ohio State student-athletes received their degrees from The Ohio State University during the spring commencement ceremony June 10 at Ohio Stadium. Among the list of honorees were Buckeye standouts: Anthony Gonzalez, Mike Nugent, Antonio Smith and Stan White of the football team, Boaz Ellis, Denis Tolkachev and Kaela Brendler of the fencing teams, Ross Wilson of the men’s tennis team, Candace Dark and Alice Jamen of the women’s basketball team, Jenna Harris and Jessica Stringer of the women’s track and field team, Saskia Mueller of the field hockey team, Jana Harrigan of the women’s hockey team, Melissa Miller of the women’s soccer team and Marisa Main of the women’s volleyball team.
Gonzalez, a philosophy major, was a 2006 First Team All-Big Ten honoree, as well as a first team Academic All-American. He was selected by the 2007 Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts in the first round of the NFL Draft in April. Former Buckeye kicker Nugent, a business major, won the 2004 Lou Groza Award and earned First Team All-America honors in 2002 and 2004. Engineering major Smith was named the team’s Most Inspirational Player in 2006 after earning First Team All-Big Ten honors. He also was a four-time OSU Scholar-Athlete. White earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business in five years while receiving a First Team Academic All-America selection in 2006.
Ellis, one of two three-time national champions in the OSU fencing program, graduated with a degree in finance. He concluded his career in 2006 with a record of 75-6. Tolkachev, a business major, was a three-time All-American with 110 career wins. Both he and Ellis helped the Buckeyes to the 2004 national title. Brendler earned her psychology degree and also was a member of the 2004 national championship squad. She concluded her career with a 100-23 record and three All-America awards, including first team honors in 2006.
Wilson, who was an All-American in 2005 and 2006, graduated from OSU with a degree in communication. A member of the tennis team from 2003-06, he partnered with Scott Green to win the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Indoor Championships in 2004 and 2005, as well as the ITA All-American Championships doubles title in 2004. Wilson is the all-time Buckeye leader in combined singles and doubles wins with 208 and holds the record for all-time doubles wins with 118.
Dark, an exercise science major, was a part of back-to-back Big Ten women’s basketball championships in 2005 and 2006, as well as three NCAA tournaments teams. Jamen, who will be back for her senior season in 2007-08, graduated early with a biology degree. She is part of Ohio State’s three-time defending Big Ten championship squads.
Harris, a marketing major, is a three-time Academic All-District honoree who succeeded on the track as well, earning All-America honors. The two-time Big Ten champion sprinter in the 60-meter indoor and 100-meter outdoor, she also holds the OSU record in the indoor 400-meter. Harris will compete in her final year in eligibility during the 2008 outdoor season. Stringer, an Academic All-District selection in 2005, received her degree in human development and family science. She is an All-American and three-time Big Ten high jump champion.
Mueller was a three-time National Field Hockey Coaches Association All-American and the 2006 Big Ten Player of the Year. A geography major, she was a NFHCA National Academic Squad member, a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and four-time OSU Scholar-Athlete.
Harrigan, who concluded her career in 2006 as Ohio State’s all-time leading scorer with 160 points, graduated with a degree in exercise science. In 2005-06, she was named an American Hockey Coaches Association Second Team All-American and a First Team All-Western Collegiate Hockey Association.
Miller graduated with a degree in family resource management after starting every game (84) in four years of competition as a defender. She was a four-time All-Big Ten selection, including two first team honors, and an All-American in 2003 and 2004.
Main, an English major, was a three-time American Volleyball Coaches Association Second Team All-American as well as three-time All-Big Ten and AVCA Midwest All-Region selection. She also earned Academic All-District honors in 2005 and two Academic All-Big Ten awards.
2007 Ohio State Student-Athlete Spring Commencement Graduates
| Sport | Student-Athlete | College |
| Baseball | JAMES FAUSNAUGH | BUS |
| Baseball | JACOB HOWELL | SBS |
| Baseball | KRISTOPHER MOORMAN | SBS |
| Baseball | WESLEY SCHIRTZINGER | EHE |
| Baseball | JASON ZOELLER | HUM |
| Men’s Cross Country/T&F | ROBERT STURGES | HUM |
| Men’s Diving | MARC DREYER | BUS |
| Football | JAMES COTTON | SBS |
| Football | MICHAEL D’ANDREA | EHE |
| Football | ANTHONY GONZALEZ | HUM |
| Football | DEREK HARDEN | ENG |
| Football | DIANGELO HASLAM | ASC |
| Football | ANDREW NORMAN | ENG |
| Football | MICHAEL NUGENT | BUS |
| Football | ANTONIO SMITH | ENG |
| Football | STANLEY WHITE | BUS |
| Men’s Fencing | BOAZ ELLIS | BUS |
| Men’s Fencing | JASON PAUL | SBS |
| Men’s Fencing | DENIS TOLKACHEV | BUS |
| Men’s Golf | DAVID VALLINA | EHE |
| Men’s Gymnastics | KRISTOPHER KLINE | BIO |
| Men’s Gymnastics | NICHOLAUS SEARCY | EHE |
| Men’s Hockey | BRYCE ANDERSON | BUS |
| Men’s Hockey | PHILIP LAUDERDALE | SBS |
| Men’s Lacrosse | JONATHAN BLASHFORD | BUS |
| Men’s Lacrosse | JEFFREY BUCK | EHE |
| Men’s Lacrosse | WESLEY KEMME | SBS |
| Men’s Lacrosse | CHRISTOPHER LI | BUS |
| Men’s Lacrosse | ERIC O’BRIEN | EHE |
| Men’s Lacrosse | MATTHEW TORESCO | BIO |
| Men’s Soccer | MARCO GARCIA | ASC |
| Men’s Swimming | MARKO BIRAC | EHE |
| Men’s Tennis | ROSS WILSON | SBS |
| Men’s Track and Field | GERALD GRIFFIN | BUS |
| Men’s Track and Field | SCOTT HUDEPOHL | BIO |
| Men’s Track and Field | ROBERT PERRYMAN | BUS |
| Men’s Track and Field | ZACH ZILCH | PHR |
| Men’s Volleyball | LAYNE DREVEN | BUS |
| Men’s Volleyball | MATTHEW HANKEY | BUS |
| Men’s Volleyball | DANIEL MESKE | AGR |
| Men’s Volleyball | SAMUEL STEVENS | ENG |
| Wrestling | JAMES KING | HUM |
| Women’s Basketball | CANDACE DARK | EHE |
| Women’s Basketball | ALICE KEBEUMEN JAMEN | BIO |
| Rowing | OLGA GRIGORIEVA | MPS |
| Rowing | MACKENZIE HILTBRAND | SBS |
| Rowing | JUSTINE MAHLER | ENG |
| Rowing | KATHLEEN SEIGHMAN | ASC |
| Rowing | SUSANNE WILSON | AHR |
| Field Hockey | LAUREN KRUSE | SBS |
| Field Hockey | SASKIA MUELLER | SBS |
| Field Hockey | FLORENCIA STIER | EHE |
| Women’s Fencing | KAELA BRENDLER | SBS |
| Women’s Gymnastics | ELIZABETH AHLBERG | EHE |
| Women’s Gymnastics | BRITTANY BROWN | SBS |
| Women’s Gymnastics | EMILY SINEWAY | AMP |
| Women’s Gymnastics | SHELBY WARNER | EHE |
| Women’s Hockey | JANA HARRIGAN | EHE |
| Women’s Hockey | KATELYN SERSHEN | EHE |
| Women’s Hockey | ERIKA VANDERVEER | SBS |
| Women’s Lacrosse | KATHRYN CARTER | EHE |
| Women’s Lacrosse | JOY DEMARCO | SBS |
| Women’s Lacrosse | ANDREA FISCHER | EHE |
| Women’s Lacrosse | NATALE MILLER | SBS |
| Softball | BILLIE JO CARDER | EHE |
| Softball | NICOLE GRAGSON | SBS |
| Softball | STACY HIBMA | AMP |
| Women’s Soccer | MICHELLE MARKUS | ENG |
| Women’s Soccer | MELISSA MILLER | EHE |
| Women’s Soccer | KELLY ROSENFELD | SBS |
| Women’s Soccer | TAYLOR SMITH | SBS |
| Synchronized Swimming | ELLEN HACKER | SBS |
| Synchronized Swimming | CHELSEA LUKER | ASC |
| Women’s Swimming | MORGAN O’CONNOR | ENG |
| Women’s Swimming | REBEKAH RYCHVALSKY | ART |
| Women’s Tennis | KRISTIN MESSMER | SBS |
| Women’s Track and Field | JENNA HARRIS | BUS |
| Women’s Track and Field | CHANDRA KREMPEL | MPS |
| Women’s Track and Field | JANELL MITCHELL | NUR |
| Women’s Track and Field | JESSICA STRINGER | EHE |
| Women’s Volleyball | FELICIA JONES | SBS |
| Women’s Volleyball | REBECCA KASTEIN | MPS |
| Women’s Volleyball | MARISA MAIN | HUM |
