BATON ROUGE — Thirteen student-athletes, including three-time All-American diver Jessica Wantz, were among the LSU students who earned their degrees as part of ceremonies on Friday.
As 12 student-athletes received undergraduate degrees, former Tiger track and field distance runner from Franklin, Nick Accardo, earned his master’s degree in education.
Wantz, a general studies graduate from Houston, earned first-team All-America honors on the 1- and 3-meter springboard in 2004 after capturing her first All-America honor in 2003 on the 3-meter springboard. In addition, she was named the SEC Diver of the Week twice and won 12 consecutive events at one point during 2005.
LSU track and field led the way with three graduates, including Accardo, Paul Thompson and Michelle Hymel. Thompson, a St. Elizabeth, Jamaica, native, earned his degree in kinesiology and Hymel, a LaPlace native, earned a psychology degree.
Alonzo Manuel and Andre Gill earned degrees from the football team. Manual, a native of Jennings, La., and a senior tight end on the 2006 Tiger squad, earned his degree in general studies, while Gill, a former Tiger wide receiver from Beverly Hills, Calif., graduated in mechanical engineering.
A native of McIntyre, Ga., former men’s basketball player Xavier Whipple earned his degree in general studies. Gerard Victoriano, a transfer on the Tiger baseball team from Lafitte, La., who completed his eligibility in the spring, graduated in kinesiology.
Former All-SEC outside hitter on the women’s volleyball team, Jelena Mijatovic, from Belgrade, Serbia, earned a degree in marketing, while former women’s tennis player Camila Caliari from Maringa, Brazil, earned a degree in kinesiology. Current women’s golfer Rebecca Struthers from Baton Rouge, former women’s gymnast Rikki L’Heureux from Wakulla, Fla., and former women’s soccer player Nicole Sprung from Slidell, all graduated in general studies.
2006 LSU Student-Athlete Summer Graduates
Arts & Sciences (7)
Rikki L’Heureux, Gymnastics, General Studies
Michelle Hymel, Track &Field, Psychology
Alonzo Manuel, Football, General Studies
Nicole Sprung, Soccer, General Studies
Rebecca Struthers, Golf, General Studies
Jessica Wantz, Swimming/Diving, General Studies
Xavier Whipple, Basketball, General Studies
Business (1)
Jelena Mijatovic, Volleyball, Marketing
Education (3)
Camila Caliari, Tennis, Kinesiology
Paul Thompson, Track & Field, Kinesiology
Gerard Victoriano, Baseball, Kinesiology
Engineering (1)
Andre Gill, Football, Mechanical Engineering
Graduate School (1)
Nick Accardo, Track & Field, Master of Education