May 4, 2007

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The University of Memphis athletic department will have 41 student-athletes receive their respectives degrees in ceremonies scheduled for two different times on Saturday. The football team has 13 graduates, the baseball team has six and the women's track team has five. Volleyball adds three graduates and women's basketball adds two graduates, while men's basketball, men's golf, men's soccer, women's soccer, men's tennis, women's tennis, rifle, and softball all have a single graduate.

Congratulations to all the graduates for all their hard work and best of luck. Remember, once a Tiger, always a Tiger!

Maurice Avery, Football -- Four-year letterwinner for the Tigers from 2002-05...Finished UM career tied for sixth in pass receptions with 97, and seventh in receiving yards with 1,373...Named second-team All-C-USA in 2003...Invited to the Hula Bowl following his senior season.

Cory Barton, Baseball -- Cory Barton is in his first season as a student assistant for the University of Memphis baseball team. A two-year letterwinner behind the plate for Memphis in the 2005-06 seasons, Barton played in 94 games, making 86 starts. A career .252 hitter, the 2006 Tiger co-captain hit six home runs and drove in 49 runs. The most notable moment of his Tiger career came on April 17, 2005, when his 10th-inning walkoff blast ended an 11-game losing streak and gave Memphis a 6-5 win over No. 30 TCU. Prior to coming to Memphis, Barton won two letters behind the plate for Shelton State where he was a Second team All-Alabama Community College Conference performer and led SSCC to a North Division crown in 2004....Trussville, Ala./Clay-Chalkville HS.

Ashley Burross, Women's Golf -- Played four years for the Lady Tiger golf team...Did not compete in the Fall 2006 season...Played in 12 tournaments...Lowest finish of her career was 27th at the Lady Eagle Classic in 2005, which gave her the second lowest finish on the team...Tallied her lowest round of 73 in round two of the Wildcat Fall Invitational in 2005...Scored her career three round low of 232 at the Lady Eagle Classic in 2005...Participated in one tournament her senior year, where she finished 69th...The Montrose, Colo. native comes from a golf family, where her father and two uncles are golf professionals, her brothers played golf in college, her grandfather was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame and her cousin recently turned pro. Montrose, Colo. /Horizon High School.

Lewis Clarke, Men's Golf -- Played four years for the Tiger golf team...Earned two Top-20 finishes in his career...Played in 20 tournaments...Lowest finish of his career was 10th at the Scenic City Invitational in 2006, where he led the Tigers to a fifth-place finish...Tallied his lowest round of 70 in round two of the Conference USA Championships in 2006...Scored his career three round low of 220 at the Nestle Purina Classic in 2003...Received the Curtis Person, Sr. Scholarship in the Fall of 2003... Devon, England/Exeter.

Christen Clayton, Volleyball -- Clayton capped her four year Tiger career with AVCA All-Midwest Honorable Mention honors after the senior co-captain was noted as the league's top libero when she was named the 2006 C-USA Libero of the Year. She also was a Second Team All C-USA pick as well as an ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District 4 Third Team honoree. Clayton reset Memphis' single-season digs records in 2005 and 2006 en route to claiming the program's all-time digs record with 1,812. She is fourth all-time in Conference USA in career digs. Clayton is one of four Tiger volleyball players to ever post 30 or more digs in a match, when she set a personal-best with 32 digs in a five-game win over Rice. That mark is tied for second in Memphis' single-match record book...Houston, Texas/Clear Lake HS.

O.C. Collins, Football -- Lettered four seasons for the Tigers (2002-05) and was a consistent starter throughout his career...Named to the 2002 C-USA All-Freshman Team...Ended the 2005 season as the Tigers' fourth-leading tackler with 55 stops...Dacula, Ga./Dacula HS

Isaac Daniel, Football -- Walk-on who came to the Tigers in 2000...Played in all 13 games in 2003 and caught one pass as a tight end...Also saw action in all 12 games in 2004 and started three games when Memphis was in a two tight end set...Millington, Tenn./Millington HS.

Brandon Farrar, Football -- Lettered in 2004 and 2005 after transferring from Southwest Mississippi Community College...Saw action in just three career games because of injuries...St. Francisville, La./Wilkinson County Christian.

LaShunda Flake, Women's Track -- One of the Lady Tigers most consistent sprinters over the past four years ... Won two event titles in the 100 meters at the Rhodes Invitational and Lee Calhoun Memorial during her junior year... Led Memphis in the 60 and 200-meter events at the 2006 C-USA Indoor Championships in 2006 ... Majored in communications with concentration in film and video...Memphis, Tenn./Overton HS.

Thomas Frier, Football -- Played in 42 games as a Tiger from 1995-98 and was a starter in 19 of those contests...Was a defensive tackle who finished his career with 92 tackles, 67 of which were solo stops...Newbern, Tenn./Dyer County HS.

Megan Gooch, Women's Basketball -- Capped her career with 229 career points and 378 career rebounds...Averaged 2.1 points and 3.4 rebounds per game over her career...Also added 57 blocked shots for four years, which ranks sixth in the Memphis career record book, just one behind Kim Duppins for fifth all-time...Also had 42 career assists and 54 career steals...Played in 111 career games, starting 52...Shot 32.2 percent from the floor for her career and 41.4 percent from the free-throw line....Georgetown, Texas/Georgetown HS.

Willie Green, Men's Track -- Tied the men's 100-meter record in 2006 with a 10.20 at the C-USA Championships and finished in third place ... Reached the 2006 NCAA Mideast Regional in the 100 meters and as part of 4x100 relay team ... Finished second in the 60 meters at the C-USA Championships in 2005 and third in 2004... Majored in sport management...Augusta, Ga./Butler HS.

Ben Grisham, Baseball -- A transfer form Mississippi State prior to the 2005-06 school year, Grisham has been one of the most valuable players on the Tigers roster over the past two seasons. Grisham has served as both the rightfielder as well as the No. 1 and No. 2 starters. Grisham, who hails from Senatobia, Miss., serves as one of the 2007 team's co-captains. He has settled into the Tigers' top pitching role and is 3-1 with a 26 strikeouts and a save in 2007. He belted seven doubles and six home runs as a junior. In his Memphis career, Grisham is 4-3 with a 52 strikeouts on the mound. At the plate, he is a career .269 hitter with 11 doubles, seven home runs and 29 RBI...Senatobia, Miss./Senatobia HS.

Willie Henderson, Football -- Lettered for three seasons on the offensive line...Did not play his senior season because of injury...Played 18 career games, and started five contests...Memphis, Tenn./Ridgeway HS.

Van Houston, Football -- Played two seasons for the Tigers after transferring from Itawamba Community College...Played all 12 games in each of the 2004 and 2006 seasons...Redshirted in 2005 because of a knee injury...Finished his career with 21 tackles, including two tackles for a loss of yardage...Okalona, Miss./Okolona HS.

Nikole Jackson, Women's Track -- Part of a talented women's throws group ... Scored for the first time in a conference meet at the 2007 C-USA Indoor Championships, placing seventh in the shot put and eighth in the weight throw ... Was a National Junior College All-American and Barton Community College before transferring to Memphis ... Majored in interdisciplinary studies with a concentration in African-American Studies and Communications...Miami, Fla./Northwestern Senior HS.

Michael Jetter, Men's Tennis - Was a member of the Tiger men's tennis team for one season (2005-06), finishing with a 14-16 overall singles record...Was also 9-6 in spring doubles...Neuenberg, Germany.

Kristen (Hardee) Kines, Volleyball - Kines played middle blocker, outside hitter and defensive specialist in her volleyball career at Memphis...A native of Sante Fe, Texas, she downed 234 kills and 316 digs in the blue and gray...Her 190 digs in 2006 marked a season-high...She recorded a career-high 10 kills against Central Arkansas in 2004 and made a career-best 13 digs vs. UCF on Oct. 13, 2005...She is married to former Memphis baseball pitcher and assistant coach Corey Kines....Sante Fe, Texas/Sante Fe HS.

Josh Langley, Baseball -- Langley earned one letter as a pitcher on the Tiger baseball team in 2006. A native of Ripley, Tenn., Langley transferred in to Memphis for one season after playing three years at Bethel College. As a Tiger, the right-hander saw action in 10 games and made one start. He went 1-2 with a save and a 6.86 ERA in 19.2 innings of work. He struck out seven...Ripley, Tenn./Ripley HS.

Gail Lee, Women's Track -- Established herself as one the best female athletes in Memphis history ... Became the first two-time women's All-American in school history with a sixth-place finish in the shot put at the 2007 NCAA Indoor Championships ... Finished the 2007 indoor season ranked ninth in the nation in shot put and 29th in the weight throw by the USATF ... Leaves Memphis as the school record-holder in five events ... Smashed the C-USA shot put record by over five-feet in 2007 to win the fourth C-USA Championship of her career... Reached three NCAA Championships ... Quickly became the most decorated women's thrower in Memphis history in 2005 during her first season as a Lady Tiger, as she set two school records, won a C-USA Indoor Championship and became the U of M's first-ever female All-American ... Majored in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in sport management communications...Fort Worth, Texas/O.D. Wyatt HS.

Jared McGowan, Football -- Lettered two seasons on the Tiger offensive line after transferring from Kentucky...Played 19 offensive snaps as a junior and was in on 28 offensive plays in 2006...Also saw action as a member of the Tiger special teams unit...Walls, Miss./Horn Lake HS.

Becca McMahon, Women's Track -- A four year letter-winner in track and cross country ... Graduated with a 3.681 ... Tiger 3.0 for eight semesters ... Was named to the Tiger Academic 30 in the fall of 2003 and 2004 ... Made the Dean's list for six semesters ... Was named to the C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll for four straight years ... Received the C-USA Commissioner's Academic Medal in 2004 and 2005 ... Major in math and minored in sociology ... Starting masters in teacher education in fall...Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry HS.

Kimberly McVeigh, Women's Track --Reached the NCAA South Regional in 2004 and cracked the team's top-five ... Tiger 3.0 Club for four semesters ... Was name to the Dean's list in the fall of 2003 ... Majored in Resort and Hospitality Management...Memphis, Tenn./Houston HS.

Andy Metcalf, Men's Soccer -- One of the most prolific scorers in Memphis soccer history...Played four years for the Tiger soccer team...Selected with the 19th overall pick in the 2006 MLS Supplemental Draft by D.C. United...Memphis Diadora Tournament MVP in 2003...Memphis Diadora All-Tournament Team in 2003...Tallied 90 points in four seasons, putting him third in Tiger history...Also made the record books in most goals scored, scoring 39...Helped lead the Tigers to the 2004 Conference USA Championships...Three-time Conference USA All-Conference Second Team honoree...NSCAA All-Midwest Second Team in 2003...Three-time C-USA Player of the Week...Soccer America Team of the Week member in 2004...Two-time ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-America Third Team member...Three-time CoSIDA Academic All-District IV Team member... NSCAA/Adidas Scholar All-South Region First Team member in 2004...Tommy Smith Award recipient in 2003...Played in 73 games...Tallied 12 assists in his career...Is currently a member of the USL's Atlanta Silverbacks. Jackson, Tenn./University School of Jackson.

Michael Murray, Baseball -- One of 10 Tigers seniors playing their final season at Memphis, Murray has shined in his final campaign. Murray, who has drawn the starting nod in all 43 contests this season, leads the team with a .361 batting average and 13 doubles. He produced the program's second-longest hit streak earlier this season, when he hit safely in 20 consecutive games. A transfer from Meridian Community College, Murray took home 2006 C-USA all-tournament accolades after hitting .538 and leading Memphis to a semifinal finish. Murray was named the Conference USA Hitter of the Week on April 9, 2007 after going 9-for-11 and guiding Memphis to its first C-USA series win over the Green Wave since 1996. A native of Baton Rouge, La., Murray is a career .328 hitter with 20 doubles and a home run...Baton Rouge, La./Catholic HS.

Devin Necaise, Women's Basketball -- Capped her career with 1,071 points, which ranks 16th in Lady Tiger scoring history...Became the 18th Memphis player in school history to pass the 1,000 career point plateau with her first three of the game at East Carolina...Knocked down 178 of 193 career free-throws for 89.6 percent, the best career free-throw shooting clip in Lady Tiger history...Hit 180 three-point field goals over her four-year Lady Tiger career, which ranks second to only LaTonya Johnson's 207 in the record books...Her 550 career attempts from three-point range is a new school record and her 32.7 percent shooting clip from beyond the arc ranks her 12th in Memphis history...Played in 119 career games, which ties for fifth-most in Memphis history, and started 85 games...Played 3,192 career minutes, which is seventh in all of Lady Tiger history...Named to the 2006-07 C-USA All-Academic Team...Necaise Crossing, Miss./Hancock HS.

Geneil Newbern, Women's Soccer -- Played only one season with the Lady Tigers after transferring from Georgia ... Was third on the team in goals and points in 2006 ... Started 13 of Memphis' 20 matches and played in all but one ... Scored the first goal in the Lady Tigers' 2-1 Conference USA Tournament win over East Carolina ... Was third at Georgia in goals, points and assists as a freshman in 2002 ... Was named All-SEC honorable mention as a freshman....Memphis, Tenn./Ridgeway HS.

Kathryn O'Rourke, Women's Golf -- Played four years for the Lady Tiger golf team...Earned two Top-20 finishes in her career...Played in 29 tournaments...Lowest finish of her career was 12th at the Badger Women's Invitational in 2006, where she was one of three Lady Tigers to finish in the Top-20...Tallied her lowest round of 70 in round one of the Lady Paladin Invitational in 2004...Scored her career three round low of 224 at the Lady Paladin Invitational in 2004...Won the Duchess County Amateur during the Summer of 2006...Was a USGA Publinks Qualifier in the Summer of 2006...Participated in four tournaments her senior year, with her lowest finish coming at the Conference USA Championships, where she finished 22nd. Holmes, N.Y. / Pawling High School.

Will Petersen, Baseball -- Will Petersen has lettered on the baseball diamond for the last two years as the Tigers everyday leftfielder. A native of Valdosta, Ga., Petersen came to Memphis after a stellar juco campaign at Middle Georgia College. He promptly made his mark on the program, hitting .336 and banging out 10 home runs in his first season of Division I competition. He legged out 22 doubles and tied for the team lead, with 85 hits as a junior, en route to garnering 2006 Conference USA all-tournament recognition. He was part of Tiger baseball history on May 20, 2006 when he hit the second homer in a string of back-to-back-to-back jacks--a feat that tied a program record set 23 years prior. Petersen started in 100 consecutive games from 2006-07 and hits .296 with 29 doubles, 22 stolen bases and 11 homers in his career at Memphis...Valdosta, Ga./Valdosta HS.

Brian Phillips, Rifle -- Lettered four seasons on the Tiger rifle squad...Was named team captain in 2006-07...Will return to the U of M in the fall to begin work on a second degree...Bogalusa, La./Bogalusa HS.

Rubio Phillips, Football -- Transferred from Holmes Community College and lettered during the 2004 and 2006 seasons...Was injured in the season opener against Ole Miss in 2005 and missed the remainder of that season...Was able to regain his senior season...Totaled 41 tackles, two sacks and one fumble recovery during his career...Kosciusko, Miss./Kosciusko HS.

Mario Pratcher, Football -- A three-year letterwinner who suffered several injury setbacks during his career...Suffered a knee injury in practice prior to the start of the season and missed all of the 2005 season...Played in 30 career games and made nine starts as a Tiger receiver...Finished his career with 39 receptions for 447 yards and one touchdown...Memphis, Tenn./Trezevant HS. Colette Ramirez, Volleyball - Ramirez transferred to Memphis from Virginia Tech prior to the 2005 season and has been a valuable facet of both the Tigers' offense and defense...She saw action in 62 career matches, drawing 46 starts...As a Tiger, Ramirez downed 379 kills, made 109 digs and 102 total blocks...She hammered home a season-high 16 kills vs. Ole Miss on Oct. 24...She tied a career-best with six blocks at Tulane (10/29/06)...Valencia, Calif./Hart HS.

Kara Ross, Softball - A two-year starter primarily at first base, Kara Ross played an instrumental role in helping the softball team earn a winning record in its first two seasons. Ross hit .289 with 10 home runs and 61 RBI in over 100 starts at the U of M. As a senior, the Jacksonville, Fla., native led the team in RBI with 36 and had a .308 average. Ross led the team in 2007 with 10 multi-RBI games. Her immediate plans include serving as an assistant coach at Rhodes College and holding private lessons...Jacksonville, Fla./Olathe East HS (Kansas).

Jamaal Rufus, Football -- A four-year letterwinner as a member of the Tiger defense and special teams unit...Played in 46 career games and totaled 62 tackles...Started in 10 contests...Also finished his career with seven pass breakups and three tackles for lost yardage...Memphis, Tenn./Frayser HS.

Kittrell Smith, Football -- Walk-on who worked with the kicking unit in 2005 and 2006...Lafayette, Tenn./Macon County HS.

Mike Snyder, Football -- A four-year letterman whose career was cut short by injury in 2006...Played 32 career games, starting in 12 contests...Started in 10 games as a junior at linebacker...Finished his career with 58 tackles, including two sacks...Also registered a fumble recovery and was a key contributor on the Tiger kick coverage team...New Orleans, La./John Curtis HS.

Stacey Tate, Women's Golf -- The leader of the Lady Tiger team...Helped lead her team to a 2007 Conference USA Championship title, where she finished second...Played three years for the Lady Tiger golf team...Transferred to Memphis from the Unitec Institute of Technology in Auckland, New Zealand, where she was the No. 4 ranked amateur golfer in her country...2006 Conference USA Player of the Year...Earned 22 Top-20 finishes, with 12 of those being Top-5 finishes...Played in 29 tournaments...Has medaled in five tournaments in her Memphis career...First on Memphis' All-Time medalist list...Was a six-time C-USA Golfer of the Week winner...Earned All-Conference USA honors in 2006 and 2007...Named one of the GolfWorld Magazine's Top 50 Female Golfers to Watch prior to the 2006-07 season...Lowest round of her career is 68, which she has tallied twice...Her three round low is 212, which she earned at the Conference USA Championships in 2007...Leads the Lady Tiger record books in lowest career average with a 75.5 and lowest season average with 74.1. Auckland, New Zealand/Unitec.

Jordan Tolliver, Baseball -- Jordan Tolliver is currently in his first season as a student assistant for the University of Memphis baseball team after earning a pair of letters as a shortstop (2005) and utility infielder (2006) for Head Coach Daron Schoenrock. Tolliver drew the starting nod in 62 of the 78 games he played in over his two-year career as a Tiger. A co-captain for the 2006 team, Tolliver started in all 54 games he played in the 2005 season and led the team with 47 runs scored, 250 plate appearance and 160 assists in the field. As a Tiger, Tolliver hit .285 with 29 RBI, 13 doubles and four homers. Tolliver came to Memphis from John A. Logan College, where he earned a pair of letters as a shortstop. He finished his juco career with a .340 batting average, 38 doubles and seven homers...Flora, Ill./Flora HS.

Clyde Wade, Men's Basketball -- A four-year letterwinner, Clyde Wade saw action in 54 career games and started two. The 6-foot guard had career averages of 1.3 points and 0.7 assists while shooting 42.9 percent from the field and 36.8 percent from the three-point line. Wade was a member of three Tiger teams that earned NCAA Tournament berths (2003, 2006, 2007), with the 2006 and 2007 squads advancing to the Elite Eight (regional final). Those 2006 and 2007 teams also won back-to-back Conference USA regular season and tournament crowns and posted a combined 66-8 overall record over the two seasons. As a senior in 2006-07, he played in 12 games and averaged 0.8 points and shot 50 percent from the field and 100 percent from the three-point arc and free throw line. Prior to suffering a right ACL injury in 2004-05, Wade saw most of his action as a freshman in 2002-03. He played in 25 games and had career highs of 10 points and five assists in a victory over Furman. Wade will graduate with a degree in Sport and Leisure Studies. Memphis, Tenn./Kingsbury HS/Winchendon School (Mass.).

Christina Wieser, Women's Tennis - Wieser is actually receiving her second degree from Memphis on Saturday, having already received her degree in Marketing Management last December...In May, Wieser will complete her MBA...She was named to the 2007 Conference USA All-Academic Team...Received the U of M Female Scholar Athlete Award following a senior season that saw her finish with a 3-13 mark in singles...Kilb, Austria.