Commencement roster: UGA athletes who will graduate Saturday
Seventy-one Georgia athletes will be among the approximately 4,000 undergraduate students receiving their bachelor’s degrees at UGA’s spring commencement ceremonies Saturday evening in Sanford Stadium.
Among them: nine-time NCAA individual champion gymnast Courtney Kupets; women’s basketball star Ashley Houts; and football player Geno Atkins, a recent Cincinnati Bengals draft pick.
Twelve football players will get their degrees Saturday, including two who will play one more season for the Bulldogs in the fall while taking graduate courses: fullback Shaun Chapas and wide receiver Kris Durham.
Here, from UGA’s sports communications department, is the full list of athletes graduating Saturday (with their majors and hometowns):
Football: Geno Atkins, Housing, Pembroke Pines, Fla.; Marquise Brown, Finance, Lanham, Md.; Shaun Chapas, Marketing, St. Augustine, Fla.; Kris Durham, Middle School Education, Calhoun; Justin Fields, Risk Management & Insurance, Savannah; Devin Hollander, Forestry, Gainesville; Casey Nickels, Finance, Tignall; Christian Norton, Economics, Athens; Kevin Perez, Child & Family Development, Miami, Fla.; Vernon Spellman, Economics, Kennesaw; Coleman Watson, Sociology, Tucker; and Brandon Wheeling, Health/PE, Dallas.
Men’s basketball: Albert Jackson, Child & Family Development, Earlington, Ky.; Ricky McPhee, Sociology, Lawrenceville; and Tyler Whatley, Religion, Auburn.
Women’s basketball: Ashley Houts, Recreational & Leisure Studies, Trenton; Christy Marshall, Fashion Merchandising, Savannah; and Danielle Taylor, Social Work, Savannah.
Baseball: Steven Esmonde, Finance, Lilburn; John Herman, Finance, Roswell; and Robbie O’Bryan, Finance, Marietta.
Equestrian: Meghan Adams, Housing, Canton; Krissan Blanchard, Psychology, Stockbridge; Alison Brock, Biology, Frisco, Tex.; Melinda Drury, Spanish, Alpharetta; Alex Finder, History, Potomac, Md.; Sara Hemingway, Finance, Alpharetta; Katie Johnson, Speech Communications, Mt. Pleasant, S.C.; Sarah Locker, Agribusiness, Princeton, Ky.; Kelley Mundrick, Family Financial Planning, Duluth; Allie Sharp, Speech Communications, Pittsgrove, N.J.; Alicia Shrum, Finance, Alpharetta; Kate Stewart, Health Promotion, Dawson; and Daisy Whelan, Art/Fabric Design, Savannah.
Men’s golf: Patrick McShane, Real Estate, Rome.
Women’s golf: Carolina Andrade-Barry, Finance/International Business, Cadiz, Spain; Melissa Brody, Ecology/Biology, Atlanta; and Leigh Crosby, Sociology, Athens.
Gymnastics: Paige Burns, Psychology, St. Cloud, Fla.; Lauren Johnson, Spanish, Cartersville; Courtney Kupets, Housing, Athens; Marcia Newby, Biological Sciences, Virginia Beach, Va.; and Tiffany Tolnay, Recreational and Leisure Studies, Grapevine, Tex.
Soccer: Kristin Garman, Spanish, Nashville, Tenn.; Lauren Glancy, Health/PE, Alpahretta; Leslie McConnell, Biology, Richmond Hill; and Lindsay Stein, Biological Sciences, Littleton, Colo.
Softball: Christie Hamilton, Health/PE, Acworth.
Swimming and diving: Hunter Lainhart, Finance/Economics, Free Union, Va.; Mhyria Miller, Housing, Big Pine Key, Fla.; Aleksandra Putra, Finance & International Affairs, Givors, France; Joe Redmon, Philosophy, Newnan; and Web Worthington, Finance, Atlanta.
Men’s tennis: Travis Helgeson, Risk Management & Insurance, Overland, Kans.; and Alex Hill, Finance, Atlanta.
Women’s tennis: Lara Fakhoury, Consumer Journalism, Tampa, Fla.; and Naoko Ueshima, Advertising, Nishinomiya, Japan.
Track and field: Bejan Abtahi, Economics, Nashville, Tenn.; Kevin Dickson, Economics, Tualatin, Ore.; John Egan, Sport Management & Telecommunication Arts, Atlanta; John Freeman, Economics, Sandy Springs; Justin Gaymon, Advertising, Stewartsville, N.J.; Brittany Holston, Health Promotion, Smyrna; Josipa Jelicic, International Affairs, Zagreb, Croatia; Bridget Lyons, Biology, Evans; Ilana McQuinn, Comparative Literature/History, Charleston, S.C.; Jamaal Parker, Statistics, Macon; Kayla Plank, Consumer Economics, Los Gatos, Calif.; Michael Proctor, Psychology, Jonesboro; Jarrell Stewart, Housing, Marietta; and Dustin Tetley, International Business, Milton.
Volleyball: Simone May, Child & Family Development, Guntersville, Ala.
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91 comments Add your comment
superDawg
May 8th, 2010
12:57 am
Well that should put a whuppin on tek stats.By the way Ala. would whoop the tar out of the nerds.
superDawg
May 8th, 2010
12:59 am
NUFF SAID.
BuLLdawg
May 8th, 2010
2:14 am
Bill, no. It is not made up. You can read about it in the Florida newspapers when they tried to say that Urban Meyer had 24 arrested / suspended to begin his career there. UGA had twice as many in the same time period, and our list includes over 94 in the Coach Richt Era and 39 in just the last 3 years.
It does not go on everywhere else as the same rate. We are 9th in The SEC in football graduation rates according to the latest NCAA Graduation Rates released 2010. We average # 96 in penalties on the field the last 4 years and have a 10-10 SEC East record over the last 4 years.
Quasi stats ? No. These are absolute facts. Request URL Links as necessary, if you refused to click them when provided earlier.
BuLLdawg
May 8th, 2010
2:17 am
As for Georgia tek, while UGA is number 9 of the 12 SEC schools in football graduation, Georgia tek is FAR WORSE in the latest NCAA Graduation Rates.
You act so great about Georgia tek as a school, when the facts are that Georgia tek football is a joke in academics.
BuLLdawg
May 8th, 2010
2:18 am
You also have LOST 8 of the 9 Coach Richt Era football games.
Nerd, stupid, and LOSER is no way to go through life.
JB
May 8th, 2010
4:53 am
BuLLdawg: Yeah, I couldn’t agree more with your assessment of UGA football. It sucks and so does your school. Here’s a novel idea: if you’re going to go to college why not get an education? (something you won’t find at UGA) Thanks for being just another dumb dawg. LMAO
BuLLdawg
May 8th, 2010
7:46 am
JB
Georgia tek Graduation Rate in football is 49 percent.
http://web1.ncaa.org/app_data/nH8egsr2009/255.pdf
BuLLdawg
May 8th, 2010
7:47 am
JB
Georgia tek Graduation Rate in men’s basketball, by the way, is 38 percent
and Georgia tek therefore is on PROBATION as we speak limited to only 11 scholarships.
BuLLdawg
May 8th, 2010
7:49 am
Less than half the Georgia tek football players graduate.
About one-third of your men’s basketball players graduate.
Your athletics department is a sham.
Dawg man
May 8th, 2010
8:26 am
Thats great, be more farmers for hire.
Sloan
May 8th, 2010
8:42 am
Congratulations to all the above athletes who have successfully acquired a college degree!
Shame on all of you blogging idiots who have something negative to say on here about the school or any of the students listed above! And a special note for you Tech fans, get over yourselves about how superior your school is to UGA. If someone wants to be an engineer when they grow up, Tech is certainly a great choice. However, UGA is a very difficult school to get in to these days and ranks very high in many areas of study including business, law, journalism, etc.
Anne
May 8th, 2010
8:48 am
Congratualtions to the ALL the students graduating from UGA today including the student athletes!
Alabama Jack
May 8th, 2010
9:08 am
Anne – even though I am a Techster, I think your comment is the best of the day. These young and not so young women and men are all to be congratulated.
GTSteve
May 8th, 2010
9:09 am
Congratulations to all graduates
1eyedJack
May 8th, 2010
9:44 am
First of all congratulations to all who earned their degrees. Secondly, contrary to what many here seem to believe, it is possible to find gainful employment even if you graduate from somewhere other than UGA or GT.
I was a little disappointed with the lack of scholarship football players graduating, but then again walkons don’t leave early for the NFL.
Ricky 4
May 8th, 2010
9:49 am
Congrats to all! GO DAWGS!!
Vick=Dog killing Thug
May 8th, 2010
11:16 am
Hey Ramble on, 30-24 8 out of 9 Soak on those numbers. See you next year
RDR
May 8th, 2010
11:20 am
JB
May 8th, 2010
4:53 am
Apparently JB has no life……………..4:53 am post!!! LOL!
Big L
May 8th, 2010
11:31 am
You people who are disrespecting the educations that these kids earned, are disgusting humans who’s paremts should have whipped you more. You have no life , no reason to dra attraction from the opposite sex. You dwell in your own jealousy of those who not only accomplish in areas that make them happy, but your hatred of people who have the outgoingness to get along with people and be cordial. None of the UGA grads work for you, much as you like to think, because UGA grads start bussinesses that employ regular folks. You basement dwelling, D&D fan, socially awkward losers need to develop a sense of social being and join the rest of the world. You are all losers. Techtards!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Russ, the Temporary Mascot
May 8th, 2010
11:39 am
I will be watching to see if that a$$ painter is graduating. If I see him before he sees me . . .
SOOHSO
May 8th, 2010
11:44 am
Shouldhav stayed in school. No jobs out here in the real world!!
RDR
May 8th, 2010
1:06 pm
BuLLdawg: Yeah, I couldn’t agree more with your assessment of UGA football. It sucks and so does your school. Here’s a novel idea: if you’re going to go to college why not get an education? (something you won’t find at UGA) Thanks for being just another dumb dawg. LMAO
RDR
May 8th, 2010
1:07 pm
Big L
We know what Big L stands for: Big Loser
BILLY JACK
May 8th, 2010
3:18 pm
IT TAKES A REAL LOWLIFE TO MAKE FUN OF A KID FOR EARNING HIS OR HER DEGREE.ARE YOU LISTENING TECHIES????THE HAMMERING YOU HAVE TAKEN ON THE FOOTBALL FIELD THE PAST DECADE SHOULD HAVE SHUT YOUR MOUTH FOR GOOD.STARTING NEXT YEAR WILL BE TOTAL BEATDOWN DECADE PART 2- ENJOY.
Bulldog Banker
May 8th, 2010
9:38 pm
I bet I make 4-5 times more money than most of the GT goobers who get on here and talk trash. Go away, ya fricking losers. No one cares to read what you think is witty and funny, but is really a desperate attempt to somehow validate your puny little existence in the world.
Now go take care of the lady who just entered the TV section at Best Buy in Kennesaw, and get off the company display computers.
Gt4ever
May 8th, 2010
9:48 pm
Sloan
Your 100 percent RIGHT! I don’t care how or where they got their degree….. Outstanding achievement! Congrats to ALL!
Hmmmmmmm
May 8th, 2010
9:52 pm
Bulldog Banker
If your a banker, then the only way you made it was off the American Taxpayer, you slime ball…. The only profession that can’t make it work when you have people giving you money hand over fist! What a JOKE!
Hmmmmmmm
May 8th, 2010
9:54 pm
You couldn’t handle the job at Best Buy,,,, LOSER!
oldmikey
May 8th, 2010
10:33 pm
Looks like we are all destined for government housing.
Bulldog Banker
May 9th, 2010
12:07 pm
Hmmmmmmm- Glad I could ruin your night and get under your skin.
Now again, there are people waitng in line at the check out at Best Buy, so get cracking little fella.
UGAgrad71
May 9th, 2010
5:36 pm
This is for all the Techies on this blog. What is the ranking of your Law School or Vet School? Oh, that’s right, you bugs don’t have that at the NORTH AVENUE TRADE SCHOOL and WAR ZONE!!!!!!!!!!
Legoland
May 9th, 2010
7:08 pm
Now that we’re officially in the off-season, wouldn’t this be the perfect time to take an in-depth look at UGA and have a free-ranging discussion about the problems at UGA and why the arrest rate of players is the highest in the country? it’s common knowledge that UGA is a party school, but have any football players every actually graduated with a real degree? Jan Kemp exposed the school and the coaches almost three decades ago, but there is no sign that anything has improved; if anything, the arrest rate shows that things are getting more outrageous every year while Mark Richt – a decent fellow with no coaching skills – has no clue what to do.
UGA has become a major embarrassment to all Georgians, and we want some answers starting now.
ugaaccountant
May 10th, 2010
8:56 am
legoland – umm, copying and pasting from another troll isn’t very good trolling. Please quit now.
Congrats to all the graduates.
Bulldog Banker
May 10th, 2010
9:15 am
UGAgrad71
May 9th, 2010
5:36 pm
“This is for all the Techies on this blog. What is the ranking of your Law School or Vet School?”
Funny that you should mention that. UGA doesn’t even have the best Law School in the state of Georgia! And although UGA is loaded with agriculture related degrees and curriculum the Vet school isn’t even in the top 10 in the country! The only thing UGA is top 10 in is as a party school. The arrests on the football team are consistent with the image that UGA is not a serious academic school in anything. If you want to waste your money and your time just get a degree from UGA. The degree isn’t worth the rag that it’s printed on. LMAO
How2fish
May 10th, 2010
11:36 am
Congrats and thanks to all the graduating athletes for 2010. Best of luck in all your future endeavors.You are all Damn Good Dogs !!
How2fish
May 10th, 2010
11:42 am
The Dogfighter Returns, Hendu ,Tide Rolls…remember losers karma is a bitch…really tearing down graduating athletes…really ??
DarkCloud
May 10th, 2010
12:35 pm
You forgot to include “Criminal Justice” as a minor for all of the football players graduating due to time served. What a bastion of “higher education”. LMAO!!
Where have you gone Bill Stanfill?
May 10th, 2010
2:01 pm
BIG CONGRATULATIONS TO THE DAWG GRADUATES! WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD.
@College Boards- The light bulb changing course is not offered at UGA. I believe that is under the umbrella of Mechanical Arts. The School of Mechanical Arts and Engineering was kicked off the UGA campus in 1885, well before the light bulb and football made it to the state. So I believe it would only be taught at Tech and their football players get credit for it at the 6000 level in Imaginary/Industrial Management.
BTW, these athletes chose to go to UGA instead of Tech because they already had a Jr. High Education and didn’t see the point in getting shot or raped while trying to get the 2nd one.
gdawginkalamazoo
May 10th, 2010
2:05 pm
Congrats to all of the student-athletes! Thanks for representing UGA!
Where have you gone Bill Stanfill?
May 11th, 2010
10:39 pm
Of course if you want a really pathetic school don’t overlook Harrick’s exams at the lowly University of Georgia, the most embarrassing college in the state.
TechSting
May 12th, 2010
6:45 am
A UGA football player actually graduated???? Are you serious????