University of Oklahoma Athletics
A Salute to OU's Seniors
May 18, 2009 | Athletics
NORMAN, Okla. -- With graduation ceremonies taking place this past weekend, we were reminded again of why we are really here.
Sure, the most recognized events in OU Athletics are those that take place on the fields and in the arenas. But perhaps there is no greater sense of individual accomplishment than walking across that stage with diploma in hand. It is the culmination of four-plus years of hard work and dedication and is something nobody can ever take away from you.
A total of 116 Sooner student-athletes graduated over the course of the past academic year, including 17 with graduate degrees and two with law degrees. The total number is a record at Oklahoma.
Those who wear the uniforms and represent this great University truly are students first and athletes second.
With that in mind, we salute OU's seniors for all of their outstanding accomplishments over the last four years.
For doing it the right way both on and off the field, here's to you...
Courtney Paris, 2009 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award winner and the first four-time All-American in women's college basketball history; Ashley Paris, a finalist for the 2009 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Award; and Carolyn Winchester, for being a model student-athlete in every sense of the term. We could not have asked for three better representatives of the women's basketball program and the University of Oklahoma.
Volleyball's Lacy Barnes and men's gymnast Jake Messina, for earning the Conference Medal, the highest career honor for OU student-athletes. Barnes was a two-time Academic All-Big 12 and All-District honoree, while Messina was an Academic All-MPSF selection four straight years.
Chris Brooks, for dedicating this season to your father and, along with fellow seniors Garrett Carr, Russ Czeschin, Jason Laughton, Messina, Kyle McNamara and Reed Pitts, for collectively leading the men's gymnastics team both in and away from the gym. This group combined for 18 individual All-America awards and 11 Academic All-MPSF honors during the course of their careers. They were a part of three national championship teams and won four straight conference titles.
Haley DeProspero, Ashley Jackson, Jessica Kinder and Gina Lesko, for hoisting Oklahoma's second straight Big 12 Championship trophy in women's gymnastics. These four seniors combined for a total of eight Academic All-Big 12 honors during their careers.
Taylor Griffin, Austin Johnson and Omar Leary for leading the men's basketball team on one of the most memorable runs in program history. Griffin and Leary also collected Academic All-Big 12 honors in their final year on campus. We must also give a special thanks to Taylor for bringing your little brother here with you.
Women's golfer Kendall Dye, for coming back from four shots down in the final round to tie for first place at the 2009 Big 12 Women's Golf Championship. Dye and fellow senior Staci Smoot both earned Academic All-Big 12 honors. Good luck at nationals Kendall!
Katie Corbitt and Traci Dickenson, for guiding a young OU women's soccer team through a transition period. Corbitt was a three-time Academic All-Big 12 selection.
Baseball's C.J. Blue, Matt Harughty, Trey Sperring and J.T. Wise. It's been a fantastic season so far on the diamond and we hope to see it continue well into the next few weeks. Blue, Harughty and Sperring all earned Academic All-Big 12 honors. Wise is a leading Big 12 Player of the Year candidate and semifinalist for the Johnny Bench Award as the nation's top cather.
Sam Ricketts, for setting a new standard for power in the storied history of Oklahoma softball; D.J. Mathis, for fighting through the pain and giving your team everything you had through your very last pitch. Ricketts, a Lowe's Senior CLASS Award finalist, Mathis and fellow senior Jeannie Douglas all earned Academic All-Big 12 honors during their careers.
Will Rowe, a three-time NCAA qualifier, and fellow senior David Armstrong, for helping Oklahoma restore their Bedlam glory over Oklahoma State. Rowe earned Academic All-Big 12 recognition as well.
Men's tennis senior Sergey Avdeyev, who walked on four years ago, worked his way into a scholarship and became a team captain this year. Avdeyev went out with a bang, earning Big 12 Player of the Week honors in the final week of the regular season.
Brittany Baldy, a native Oklahoman, and Kate Robinson, for helping a women's tennis team full of international players adapt to life halfway around the world. Both earned Academic All-Big 12 recognition in the process.
Track's Frankie Green, for maintaining a perfect 4.0 GPA; and to Shardae Boutte, Tony Clement, Leslie Cole, Green, Dominique Jacobs, Katherine Johnson, Amanda Mayfield, Chad Radgowski and Adrian Wiltshire for continuing Oklahoma's tradition of excellence in cross country/track and field. We could fill up another entire page with all of your accomplishments in competition and in the classroom. We wish you the best of luck as you wrap up your careers in the coming weeks.
Teddi Dwyer and Chelsea Moore, for making the inaugural season of OU rowing a monumental success.
Nic Harris, for making an impact on the field and in the community. Harris spent his last two years as the president of Bridge Builders, a minority student organization focused on mentoring underprivileged kids.
Football seniors Cory Bennett, Brett Bowers, Branndon Braxton, Cortney Carter, Quentin Chaney, Jon Cooper, Alan Davis, Derek Gove, Joey Halzle, Harris, Lendy Holmes, Juaquin Iglesias, Kyle Johnson, Manuel Johnson, Mike Knall, Phil Loadholt, Duke Robinson, Lamont Robinson, Kolby Smith and Brandon Walker -- for giving us a reason to jump around, for leading the Sooners to conference title No. 42 and for making an improbable run to the national championship game.
Thanks again seniors... for all your contributions. Boomer Sooner!
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If you find any errors or omissions in this release, please send us an email.
Sure, the most recognized events in OU Athletics are those that take place on the fields and in the arenas. But perhaps there is no greater sense of individual accomplishment than walking across that stage with diploma in hand. It is the culmination of four-plus years of hard work and dedication and is something nobody can ever take away from you.
A total of 116 Sooner student-athletes graduated over the course of the past academic year, including 17 with graduate degrees and two with law degrees. The total number is a record at Oklahoma.
Related News from OU Athletics No. 1 in Degree Completion | Scholar-Athlete Awards | Brown Fulfills Promise |
Those who wear the uniforms and represent this great University truly are students first and athletes second.
With that in mind, we salute OU's seniors for all of their outstanding accomplishments over the last four years.
For doing it the right way both on and off the field, here's to you...
Courtney Paris, 2009 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award winner and the first four-time All-American in women's college basketball history; Ashley Paris, a finalist for the 2009 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Award; and Carolyn Winchester, for being a model student-athlete in every sense of the term. We could not have asked for three better representatives of the women's basketball program and the University of Oklahoma.
Volleyball's Lacy Barnes and men's gymnast Jake Messina, for earning the Conference Medal, the highest career honor for OU student-athletes. Barnes was a two-time Academic All-Big 12 and All-District honoree, while Messina was an Academic All-MPSF selection four straight years.
Chris Brooks, for dedicating this season to your father and, along with fellow seniors Garrett Carr, Russ Czeschin, Jason Laughton, Messina, Kyle McNamara and Reed Pitts, for collectively leading the men's gymnastics team both in and away from the gym. This group combined for 18 individual All-America awards and 11 Academic All-MPSF honors during the course of their careers. They were a part of three national championship teams and won four straight conference titles.
Haley DeProspero, Ashley Jackson, Jessica Kinder and Gina Lesko, for hoisting Oklahoma's second straight Big 12 Championship trophy in women's gymnastics. These four seniors combined for a total of eight Academic All-Big 12 honors during their careers.
Taylor Griffin, Austin Johnson and Omar Leary for leading the men's basketball team on one of the most memorable runs in program history. Griffin and Leary also collected Academic All-Big 12 honors in their final year on campus. We must also give a special thanks to Taylor for bringing your little brother here with you.
Women's golfer Kendall Dye, for coming back from four shots down in the final round to tie for first place at the 2009 Big 12 Women's Golf Championship. Dye and fellow senior Staci Smoot both earned Academic All-Big 12 honors. Good luck at nationals Kendall!
Katie Corbitt and Traci Dickenson, for guiding a young OU women's soccer team through a transition period. Corbitt was a three-time Academic All-Big 12 selection.
Baseball's C.J. Blue, Matt Harughty, Trey Sperring and J.T. Wise. It's been a fantastic season so far on the diamond and we hope to see it continue well into the next few weeks. Blue, Harughty and Sperring all earned Academic All-Big 12 honors. Wise is a leading Big 12 Player of the Year candidate and semifinalist for the Johnny Bench Award as the nation's top cather.
Sam Ricketts, for setting a new standard for power in the storied history of Oklahoma softball; D.J. Mathis, for fighting through the pain and giving your team everything you had through your very last pitch. Ricketts, a Lowe's Senior CLASS Award finalist, Mathis and fellow senior Jeannie Douglas all earned Academic All-Big 12 honors during their careers.
Will Rowe, a three-time NCAA qualifier, and fellow senior David Armstrong, for helping Oklahoma restore their Bedlam glory over Oklahoma State. Rowe earned Academic All-Big 12 recognition as well.
Men's tennis senior Sergey Avdeyev, who walked on four years ago, worked his way into a scholarship and became a team captain this year. Avdeyev went out with a bang, earning Big 12 Player of the Week honors in the final week of the regular season.
Brittany Baldy, a native Oklahoman, and Kate Robinson, for helping a women's tennis team full of international players adapt to life halfway around the world. Both earned Academic All-Big 12 recognition in the process.
Track's Frankie Green, for maintaining a perfect 4.0 GPA; and to Shardae Boutte, Tony Clement, Leslie Cole, Green, Dominique Jacobs, Katherine Johnson, Amanda Mayfield, Chad Radgowski and Adrian Wiltshire for continuing Oklahoma's tradition of excellence in cross country/track and field. We could fill up another entire page with all of your accomplishments in competition and in the classroom. We wish you the best of luck as you wrap up your careers in the coming weeks.
Teddi Dwyer and Chelsea Moore, for making the inaugural season of OU rowing a monumental success.
Nic Harris, for making an impact on the field and in the community. Harris spent his last two years as the president of Bridge Builders, a minority student organization focused on mentoring underprivileged kids.
Football seniors Cory Bennett, Brett Bowers, Branndon Braxton, Cortney Carter, Quentin Chaney, Jon Cooper, Alan Davis, Derek Gove, Joey Halzle, Harris, Lendy Holmes, Juaquin Iglesias, Kyle Johnson, Manuel Johnson, Mike Knall, Phil Loadholt, Duke Robinson, Lamont Robinson, Kolby Smith and Brandon Walker -- for giving us a reason to jump around, for leading the Sooners to conference title No. 42 and for making an improbable run to the national championship game.
Thanks again seniors... for all your contributions. Boomer Sooner!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
If you find any errors or omissions in this release, please send us an email.
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