BATON ROUGE — Eighteen student-athletes, including Southeastern Conference Gymnast of the Year Ashleigh Clare-Kearney, were among the LSU students who earned their degrees as part of the commencement ceremony on Friday.
As 17 student-athletes received undergraduate degrees, one former Tiger, Patricia Minnis, earned her doctorate in communication studies. Minnis was a four-year women’s tennis letterwinner for LSU from 19898-1991 and is the sister of current Lady Tiger tennis head coach Tony Minnis.
Clare-Kearney, who still has one season of eligibility remaining, was an integral part of LSU’s advancing to the NCAA Super Six for the first time in the program’s history. A 2008 All-American on the floor and the bars and a first-team All-SEC selection, she ranked No. 2 in the nation in the all-around rankings and was among the top 25 in the nation in all four of the individual events. A graduate in English, she also became only the second gymnast in school history to win the all-around at the SEC Championships.
Two members of LSU’s 2007 football BCS National Championship team, Max Holmes and Jacob O’Hair, also earned their degrees. Holmes, a three-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll, earned his degree in psychology, while O’Hair, a two-year starter at deep snapper, earned his degree in general studies. In addition, Alcender Jackson, a three-year letterwinner in the late 1990s, earned his degree in general studies.
The LSU track and field team led all programs with seven graduates, including 2007 NCAA 100-meter champion and 2008 Olympian Sherry Fletcher, 2006 SEC Outdoor 800-meter champion Tanya Osbourne and 2007 SEC Outdoor triple jump champion Andrea Linton. Fletcher, who will represent her native country of Grenada in the 100 meters in the Beijing Olympics, earned her degree in general studies. Osbourne earned her degree in psychology and Linton graduated with a degree in journalism.
Lady Tiger basketball player Marian Whitfield, who, along with fellow teammate Khalilah Mitchell, is one of only two players in NCAA history ? either men or women – to be a part of five Final Four appearances, completed her studies on Friday. LSU volleyball standout Kassi Mikulik led the Tigers to back-to-back SEC Western Division titles and NCAA Tournament appearances and also graduated on Friday. Both Whitfield and Mikulik earned degrees in general studies.
Jason Lewis, a member of the 2008 SEC Academic Honor Roll, and Jonathan Wilhite, a two-year letterwinner who transferred from Delgado Community College, graduated in general studies. Dameon Mason, who lettered in 2006-2007 for the men’s basketball team after transferring from Marquette, and Katy Leininger, a three-year letterwinner on the swimming team, also earned degrees in general studies.
As part of the 2007-08 academic year, 93 LSU student-athletes earned their degrees. Five of those who graduated were awarded postgraduate degrees and 88 earned undergraduate degrees.
2008 LSU Student-Athlete Summer Graduates
Arts & Sciences
Ashleigh Clare-Kearney, Gymnastics, English
Sherry Fletcher, Track & Field, General Studies
Nedra Gross, Track & Field, Sociology
Amanda Harmata, Track & Field, General Studies
Maxwell Holmes, Football, Psychology
Alcender Jackson, Football, General Studies
Katy Leininger, Swimming & Diving, General Studies
Jason Lewis, Baseball, General Studies
Dameon Mason, Basketball, General Studies
Kassi Mikulik, Volleyball, General Studies
Jacob O’Hair, Football, General Studies
Tanya Osbourne, Track & Field, Psychology
Erik Powell, Track & Field, General Studies
Jonathan Wilhite, Baseball, General Studies
Marian Whitfield, Basketball, General Studies
Education
Kathryn Coleman, Track & Field, Kinesiology
Mass Communication
Andrea Linton, Track & Field, Journalism
Graduate School
Patricia Minnis, Tennis, PhD – Communication Disorders