[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 14 (Tuesday, February 24, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E211]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    CONGRATULATIONS TO UNITED STATES WOMEN'S GOLD MEDAL HOCKEY TEAM

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                        HON. BARBARA B. KENNELLY

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 24, 1998

  Mrs. KENNELLY of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my 
colleagues to join with me in recognizing the incredible achievement of 
the United States Gold Medal Women's Hockey Team. I am particularly 
proud that Gretchen Ulion of Connecticut's First District played as a 
member of this team. Gretchen is an accomplished hockey player, having 
played on three United States Women's National Teams. Gretchen also 
left a legacy of records at Dartmouth College. She excelled while 
playing for the Big Green, setting 11 Dartmouth and 4 Ivy League 
records. She is also a hero off the ice. Prior to the Olympic games, 
Gretchen taught high school math and history at the Pingree school in 
Massachusetts. She plans to continue teaching in the future. Gretchen 
is joined on the team by two other members with Connecticut roots: Sue 
Merz from Greenwich and Angela Ruggiero who is presently attending 
Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford.
  The Women's Gold Medal in hockey is a great step forward for women 
and marks their contribution to athletics. The women's team's brilliant 
play showed not only their talent but their love of the sport. The team 
showed that a desire to prove themselves and earn respect for their 
game could lead to success. Women athletes prevailed in the 1998 Winter 
Olympics, winning eight of the thirteen medals earned by the United 
States. As Cammi Granato (captain of the 1998 United States Women's 
Olympic Hockey Team) carried the flag in the closing ceremonies, she 
became a symbol of the ideals that we cherish so deeply for our youth: 
heart, dedication, and unity, the kind of ideals that we now find in 
women athletes like Connecticut's Gretchen Ulion.
  This Gold Medal, earned by the United States in the first-ever full 
medal Women's Olympic Hockey competition is a sign of things to come. 
As Jack Edwards of ESPN Sports Zone remarked, ``They brought home the 
glittering gold. They'll have the rest of their lives to savor its 
aura.''

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