[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 14 (Tuesday, February 24, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E212]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               ERIN WHITTEN--A GUSTY AND TALENTED ATHLETE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. GERALD B.H. SOLOMON

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 24, 1998

  Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, there's one face missing from that Wheaties 
box, and it's that of Erin Whitten of Glens Falls, New York.
  Mr. Speaker, I was enormously proud of our triumphant women's hockey 
team and their success in Nagano, Japan. And I got a kick out of their 
securing that sure proof of success in American sports, a team photo 
gracing that ``breakfast of champions,'' Wheaties.
  Who's Erin Whitten? Erin Whitten is the young lady who made it all 
possible. In 1993, Erin Whitten, then a goalie with the Toledo Storm, 
was the first women goalie to post a regular season in a professional 
hockey game. It wasn't the first ``first'' for Erin.
  She raised some eyebrows when she was only seven years old in the 
Adirondack Youth Hockey Association. The Glens Falls High School Boy's 
Hockey Team posted a 21-9-2 record with Erin blocking 84.6 percent of 
the shots against her. She was the first female to play in the Division 
II high school state championships. And she was an all-conference 
honorable mention during the 1988-89 season.
  At the University of New Hampshire Erin led the women's hockey team 
to a record of 54-14-4. She was a four-time ECAC goalie of the year, 
the University's 1992-93 Woman Athlete of the Year, twice ECAC player 
of the week, and a two-time Concordia University tournament player of 
the game. Her women's hockey record of 46 saves in one game still 
stands. Her collegiate save percentage was an impressive 91 percent.
  After a career on minor league hockey teams, Erin began concentrating 
on the national team with the hope of making the trip to Nagano. 
Unfortunately, she was one of the last cuts.
  But no doubt many of the stars on the women's hockey team, whose 
triumph ranks with that of the men's team in that glorious 1980 Winter 
Olympics in Lake Placid, now in our 22nd district, were first inspired 
by Erin Whitten.
  It was she who proved that women, too, have the toughness it takes to 
play organized hockey, and that given a chance, a team of talented 
athletes like Erin Whitten play an exciting brand of hockey.
  Erin is determined to stay in shape and make the team that represents 
us in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. I, for one, would 
advise every one not to bet that she doesn't make the team. She has 
already proven herself, and any future history of U.S. women's hockey 
that's worth reading will devote a long chapter to this gutsy, talented 
athlete.
  And so, Mr. Speaker, please join me in paying tribute to a remarkable 
young lady, Erin Whitten of Glens Falls.

                          ____________________