[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 9330-9331]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

                                 ______
                                 

  CONGRATULATING THE SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY WOMEN'S BASKETBALL 
                                  TEAM

 Mr. THUNE. Madam President, today I honor the South Dakota 
State University women's basketball team. In only their third season as 
Division I competitors, the Jackrabbits made it to the quarterfinals of 
the Women's National Invitational Tournament. This impressive 
accomplishment capped off an extremely successful season in which the 
Jacks finished with a record of 25-6.
  The SDSU women's basketball team has a long tradition of postseason 
success. During the 1970s and early 1980s, the Jacks qualified for 10 
AIAW regional tournaments. As NCAA Division II competitors, they made 
nine postseason appearances and won the national title in 2003. 
Additionally, the Jackrabbits reached the Elite Eight in each of their 
last three seasons as a Division II team.
  In 2004, SDSU transitioned its athletic program to compete in NCAA 
Division I, becoming the first school in South Dakota to do so. Since 
this transition, the Jackrabbits women's basketball team has 
successfully risen to meet the challenge that comes with this new level 
of competition. By defeating well-known teams with much bigger budgets, 
this year's team once again proved that SDSU can compete with the top 
programs in the Nation.
  The Jackrabbits were led by Aaron Johnston, who has served as head 
coach of the SDSU women's basketball team for the past seven seasons. 
Coach Johnston was responsible for taking the Jacks to the top of NCAA 
Division II and has shown his strong leadership skills in successfully 
transitioning the team to Division I. He was the 2006 South Dakota 
Sportswriters Women's College Basketball Coach of the Year and has been 
named the Division I Independent Coach of the Year for the past two 
seasons. Johnston was supported by Assistant Coaches Laurie Melum, Jina 
Johansen, and Matt Stamerjohn.
  Of course, this historic season would be impossible without the 
players themselves. The athletes of the 2006-2007 South Dakota State 
University women's basketball team, in alphabetical order, are as 
follows: Alison Anderson, Maria Boever, Ketty Cornemann, Courtney 
Grimsrud, Nicole Helsper, Abby Kratovil, Morgan Meier, Ashlea 
Muckenhirn, Laura Nielsen, Stacie Oistad, Andrea Verdegan, Megan Vogel, 
and Jennifer Warkenthien.
  While all of these women should be commended for their efforts, I 
would like to especially recognize the team's only senior, Megan Vogel. 
A 4-year starter, Vogel ended her career as the second leading scorer 
in SDSU school

[[Page 9331]]

history with 1,850 career points. During this past season, she led the 
Jacks in scoring with 17.5 points per game and was chosen as a first-
team all-Division I Independent selection for the second time. After 
participating in the WNBA Pre-Draft Camp, Vogel was chosen as a second 
round draft pick by the Washington Mystics. Selected as the 19th 
overall pick, Vogel became the first Jackrabbit and first player from a 
South Dakota college to be taken in the WNBA draft.
  These are just a few of the many firsts that the Jacks accomplished 
this season. These student-athletes should be very proud of all of 
their remarkable achievements. On behalf of the State of South Dakota, 
I am pleased to say congratulations Jackrabbits on this impressive 
accomplishment and keep up the great work.

                          ____________________