[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Pages 3908-3909]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY JACKRABBITS

 Mr. THUNE. Madam President, today I wish to honor the South 
Dakota State University men's and women's basketball teams on winning 
their respective 2013 Summit League Championships. This marks the 
Jackrabbits fifth consecutive women's Summit League Title and the men's 
basketball team's second consecutive Summit League Title. The 
Jackrabbits are also the only team in Division I to have both their 
men's and women's teams repeat as conference tournament champions this 
year.
  The SDSU women's basketball team has a long history of success, 
including winning all five Summit League Tournaments since moving up to 
NCAA Division I. South Dakota State University, which concluded the 
regular season with a 22-7 overall record, won the Summit League 
Conference with a 14-2 record. With the tournament victory the 
Jackrabbits will go to their fifth NCAA Tournament in as many years.
  Certainly, this successful season would not have been possible 
without the hard work of the players. The members of the 2012-2013 
South Dakota State University women's basketball team are: Anne Aamlid, 
Gabrielle Boever, Mariah Clarin, Chloe Cornemann, Leah Dietel, Ashley 
Eide, Jessica Hart, Tara Heiser, Katie Lingle, Steph Paluch, Hannah 
Strop, Megan Stuart, Rachel Walters, and Megan Waytashek.
  Although this accomplishment was truly a team effort, I would like to 
pay special recognition to their coach Aaron Johnston, who in his 13th 
season recorded his 300th win and became

[[Page 3909]]

SDSU's all-time winning head coach. Coach Johnston's current record is 
315-106. I also would like to congratulate assistant coaches Katie 
Falco, Mike Jewett, and Carissa Nord.
  The SDSU men's basketball team has seen much recent success of its 
own. The Jacks posted a regular season record of 22-9 en route to its 
first regular season Summit League Conference championship, with a 
conference record of 13-3. Also, following a 73-67 win over rival North 
Dakota State University in the tournament championship, the Jacks have 
reached the NCAA tournament for the second year in a row.
  SDSU's successful season could not have been possible without the 
dedication and determination of the players. The members of the 2012-
2013 South Dakota men's basketball team are: Jake Bittle, Brayden 
Carlson, Connor Devine, Matt Donlan, Jordan Dykstra, Joey Feilmeier, 
Tony Fiegen, Marcus Heemstra, Zach Horstman, Cory Jacobsen, Taevaunn 
Prince, Ruben Silva, Chad White, Joshua White, and Nate Wolters.
  Finally, I would like to congratulate Coach Scott Nagy on winning his 
first Summit League Conference regular season title as well as his 
second consecutive tournament championship as head coach of the 
Jackrabbits. I also would like to congratulate assistant coaches Brian 
Cooley, Austin Hansen, Rob Klinkefus and graduate assistant Nick Goff.
  The coaches and student athletes of SDSU's men's and women's 
basketball team should be very proud of all of their remarkable 
achievements this season. On behalf of the State of South Dakota, I am 
honored to congratulate the Jackrabbits on their impressive seasons and 
wish them the best of luck in the NCAA Tournaments. Go Jacks!

                          ____________________