Courtesy: Minnesota Athletics
MINNEAPOLIS — Eleven former Gophers entered the M Club Hall of Fame Saturday, including three members of the Minnesota swimming and diving programs. Jenny (Shaughnessy) Ferris, Jeff Hackler and Jillian (Tyler) Miller became the 28th, 29th and 30th members of the program to earn induction. A fourth, Terry Silkaitis, was unable to attend the Hall of Fame banquet and will be inducted at a later date.
Below is a brief bio on each inductee. See their Q&As from the banquet ceremony here.
JENNY (SHAUGHNESSY) FERRIS
Jenny (Shaughnessy) Ferris put herself on the map during her Golden Gopher tenure. A 12-time All-American, Ferris was also an eight-time All-Big Ten. A two-time Big Ten champion in the 400 individual medley, she was also the 2009 Big Ten Swimmer of the Championships after winning four events, including the 200 and 400 IM as well as two relays. Ferris also aided the Gophers in the 2008 Big Ten Championship. By the time she was done with her Gopher career, Ferris held six school records, including a Big Ten record in the 200 free.
An outstanding student, Ferris was also a 2009 Academic All-American and two-time Minnesota Top Five award, given to the athletes with the highest GPA in the department.
JEFF HACKLER
Jeff Hackler was a 16-time All-American for the Golden Gophers, which ranks third in school history. Individually, he was an eight-time First Team All-American during his Gopher tenure spanning from 2000-03. A phenomenal breaststroker, Hackler was an 11-time Big Ten champion and won the 100 breaststroke and 200 breaststroke twice apiece at Big Ten Championships. He set the school record in the 100 breaststroke and finished third in the 200 breaststroke at the 2000 NCAA Championships and in the 100 breaststroke at the 2002 NCAA Championships. The 2000 Big Ten Freshman of the Year was also a member of two Big Ten championship teams in 2001 and 2002.
Hackler also competed at the 2001 Goodwill Games after finishing second in the 100 breaststroke at the 2001 US National Championships.
JILLIAN (TYLER) MILLER
Calgary, Alberta native Jillian (Tyler) Miller became Minnesota’s second women’s swimming national champion, winning the 100-yard breaststroke in 2011. Miller accumulated 13 All-America awards and was a seven-time NCAA finalist as an individual. She remains the only Gopher athlete to win four Big Ten titles in the same event, taking the 100 breaststroke each year. She also won the Big Ten 200 breaststroke twice (2010, 2011). She was named the 2011 Big Ten Swimmer of the Championships. Overall she won eight Big Ten titles, swimming the breaststroke leg of the victorious 400 medley relay team in 2008 and 2010. Miller shattered the school record in both breaststroke events during her storied career and was a critical part of Minnesota’s team success that included a Big Ten title in 2008.
Miller earned a spot on Team Canada in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and the 2012 Olympics in London. Miller competed in the 100-meter breaststroke, reaching the semifinals in both Games.
