1998 Nagano Winter Games
2,304 Athletes, 80 Countries, 68 Events
By the time that the International Olympic Committee made women's
ice hockey an Olympic sport, in time for the 1998 Nagano Games, the
Ivy League had been crowning women's ice hockey champions for 22
years - Cornell being the first in 1976. So when the women started
to take the ice at the Olympics, Ivy Leaguers dominated the
competition.
Seven from the Ancient Eight skated for the American team:
Katie King (Brown, 1997), Tara
Mounsey (Brown, 2001), Sarah Tuerig
(Dartmouth, 1998), Gretchen Ulion (Dartmouth,
1994), A.J. Mleczko (Harvard, 1999),
Angela Ruggiero (Harvard, 2002) and Sandra
Whyte (Harvard, 1992). The American squad won the gold
medal in commanding fashion. Their 6-0 record came easily, they
scored 36 goals and allowed only eight.
Two Ivies, Becky Kellar (Brown, 1997) and
Jen Botterill (Harvard, 2002), skated for the
silver medal-winning Canadian team. Canada lost to the U.S. in the
final game, 3-1. Also, Chie Chie Sakuma (Brown,
1994) was on Japan's team.
All except Sakuma and Whyte would return for the 2002 Salt Lake
City Games, where they would be joined by more of their Ivy
teammates.
Two Dartmouth skiers made the trip to Japan: Suzanne P.
King '86, and Elizabeth G. McIntyre '87.
The Nagano Games were the first in Winter Olympic history that
Dartmouth was not represented in any men's skiing competition. The
best finish between King and McIntyre came for McIntyre in the
moguls competition, where she finished in eighth place.
Two other Dartmouth grads, Cameron 'Cammy'
Myler '92 and Stacey Wooley '91, competed
in the Nagano Games. Myler was in her fourth, and last, Winter
Olympics, on the U.S. luge team. She finished in seventh place in
the 1998 women's singles race. Wooley competed in the biathlon, a
competition which involves both crosscountry skiing and shooting.
She would return to the Olympics in 2002.
Joe Nieuwendyk (Cornell, 1988) skated for the
Canadian men's ice hockey team at the 1998 Games. Nieuwendyk,
already an established star in the National Hockey League (NHL),
took advantage of the ruling by the IOC that allowed professionals
to compete in the Olympic hockey tournament. The Canadian team
allowed only eight goals in the 1998 Games, putting them in second
place in that category behind gold medal winning
Czechoslovakia.
Nagano was the sight of Dan Weinstein's Olympic
debut at the tender age of 17. Weinstein (Harvard, 2003) was the
first Ivy Leaguer (or future Ivy Leaguer) to compete in Olympic
speed skating. He returned for the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, where
he qualified for the 5,000-meter relay team.
| Name |
School |
Sport |
| Becky Kellar |
Brown University |
Women's Ice Hockey |
| Katie King |
Brown University |
Women's Ice Hockey |
| Tara Mounsey |
Brown University |
Women's Ice Hockey |
| Chie Chie Sakuma |
Brown University |
Women's Ice Hockey |
| Joe Nieuwendyk |
Cornell University |
Men's Ice Hockey |
| Nina M. Kemppel |
Dartmouth College |
Women's Nordic Skiing |
| Suzanne P. King |
Dartmouth College |
Women's Nordic Skiing |
| Elizabeth G. McIntyre |
Dartmouth College |
Women's Freestyle Skiing |
| Cameron 'Cammy' Myler |
Dartmouth College |
Women's Luge |
| Sarah Tueting |
Dartmouth College |
Women's Ice Hockey |
| Gretchen Ulion |
Dartmouth College |
Women's Ice Hockey |
| Stacey Wooley |
Dartmouth College |
Women's Biathlon |
| Jen Botterill |
Harvard University |
Women's Ice Hockey |
| Jim Herberich |
Harvard University |
Men's Bobsled |
| A.J. Mleczko |
Harvard University |
Women's Ice Hockey |
| Angela Ruggerio |
Harvard University |
Women's Ice Hockey |
| Dan Weinstein |
Harvard University |
Men's Short Track Skating |
| Sandra Whyte |
Harvard University |
Women's Ice Hockey |
|
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