[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 51 (Tuesday, April 30, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H1743-H1745]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   HONORING UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS MEN'S HOCKEY AND 
  WRESTLING TEAMS AND UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA-DULUTH BULLDOGS WOMEN'S 
            HOCKEY TEAM FOR WINNING 2002 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to 
the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 391) honoring the University of 
Minnesota Golden Gophers men's hockey and wrestling teams and the 
University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs women's hockey team for winning 
the 2002 National Collegiate Athletic Association championships.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 391

       Whereas the University of Minnesota Gophers men's hockey 
     team recently won the 2002 National Collegiate Athletic 
     Association championship for the 4th time in the university's 
     history;
       Whereas the Minnesota Gophers men's hockey team had an 
     impressive overall record of 32-8-4;
       Whereas all but 1 of the players on the Minnesota Gophers 
     men's hockey team are from Minnesota;
       Whereas the Minnesota Gophers wrestling team won their 
     second consecutive NCAA championship in 2002;
       Whereas the Minnesota Gophers wrestling team was undefeated 
     in the 2002 season and won the Big 10 Conference tournament;
       Whereas the Minnesota Gophers wrestling team finished in 
     the top 3 in the Nation for the 6th consecutive year;
       Whereas 7 members of the Minnesota Gophers wrestling team 
     earned All-American honors;
       Whereas the Minnesota Gophers wrestling team produced 2 
     individual national champions;
       Whereas on March 24, 2002, the defending NCAA Women's Ice 
     Hockey National Champion, the University of Minnesota-Duluth 
     Bulldogs, won the national championship for the second 
     straight year;
       Whereas the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs women's hockey team 
     defeated Brown University in the championship game by the

[[Page H1744]]

     score of 3-2, having previously defeated Niagara University 
     in the semi-final by the same score;
       Whereas during the 2001-2002 season, the Minnesota-Duluth 
     Bulldogs women's hockey team won 24 games, while losing only 
     6, and tying 4; and
       Whereas all of the players on the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs 
     women's hockey team showed tremendous dedication throughout 
     the season toward the goal of winning the national 
     championship;
       Whereas all 3 of these teams display academic excellence by 
     maintaining an average grade point average above the 
     university-wide average; and
       Whereas Congress should honor the excellence of athletic 
     teams and encourage participation in collegiate athletics in 
     order to build teamwork and dedication: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That Congress honors the University of Minnesota 
     Golden Gophers men's hockey and wrestling teams and the 
     University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs women's hockey team 
     for winning the 2002 National Collegiate Athletic Association 
     championships.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Georgia (Mr. Isakson) and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Isakson).


                             General Leave

  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks on H. Con. Res. 391.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Georgia?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise in support of House Concurrent Resolution 391, a resolution 
that congratulates the University of Minnesota men's hockey and 
wrestling teams and University of Minnesota-Duluth women's hockey team 
for winning the 2002 National Collegiate Athletic Association 
Championships. I am very pleased to commend the gentleman from 
Minnesota (Mr. Kennedy) for bringing this resolution, and I encourage 
all the Members of the House to support it.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I am very happy to rise to support H. Con. Res. 391 which honors the 
University of Minnesota Golden Gophers men's hockey and wrestling 
teams, and University of Minnesota-Duluth women's hockey team for 
winning the 2002 National Collegiate Athletic Association championship. 
They certainly are worthy of the accolades of this House.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Minnesota (Mr. Kennedy), the author of the resolution.
  Mr. KENNEDY of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, as basketball great Michael 
Jordan once said, ``Talent wins games but teamwork and intelligence 
wins championships.'' It is with great pride that I rise today to 
introduce a resolution to honor the three Minnesota national champions, 
the Golden Gophers men's hockey and wrestling teams, and University of 
Minnesota-Duluth women's hockey team for winning the 2002 NCAA 
championships.
  Minnesota has had a long and proud tradition of hockey. This is the 
fourth time that the University of Minnesota Gophers have won their 
national championship. I congratulate the team and their head coach Don 
Lucia. As Don Lucia says, ``Hockey and Minnesota are synonymous with 
each other.''
  The Golden Gophers wrestling team became the first back-to-back 
Gopher national champions since 1940 and 1941, when the Minnesota 
Gophers won back-to-back football championships and consecutive 
national titles. I congratulate the team and their head coaches, 
Robinson and Morgan.
  The University of Minnesota-Duluth women's hockey team captured their 
second straight NCAA championship. In the championship game, they beat 
Brown three to two. Congratulations to the team and their head coach, 
Shannon Miller.
  All three of these should be considered and honored for their 
academic excellence as well. All three maintained grade point averages 
above the school average. Their hard work on and off the ice and mat 
have made them champions in the eyes of all Minnesotans.
  I congratulate each and every player on these teams and their coaches 
for their hard work, perseverance and teamwork. The entire Minnesota 
delegation congratulates them.
  Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the 
distinguished gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Gutknecht).
  Mr. GUTKNECHT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. 
Isakson) for yielding me the time, and I want to thank my colleague the 
gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Kennedy) for bringing this resolution 
forward. I am a happy and proud co-sponsor of it.
  There are two sports that we take very seriously back in the State of 
Minnesota. One of them is hockey and the other is wrestling. Part of 
the reason I think we take them so seriously is because if one is going 
to excel in these two sports, they have to have enormous amounts of 
dedication to those spores.
  So on behalf of all of the people of the great State of Minnesota, I 
rise in support of this resolution to congratulate the young men and 
women who have earned this recognition.
  First of all, to win the national championship in hockey is something 
that is extremely difficult to do. We know that because in Minnesota, 
we have young people as old as 4 years old, parents are taking them 
down to the ice arenas. At 4 years old they are called mites, and they 
start skating and they start learning the sport of hockey, and to win a 
national championship is an honor that they can only dream of one day, 
and obviously it is with the leadership of the University of Minnesota 
and the Gophers, what they did today, that will give them even more 
impetus to work hard to try to achieve that dream.
  Also, on behalf of the people of the State of Minnesota, we want to 
thank and congratulate the young women at the University of Minnesota-
Duluth for their amazing accomplishment to win back-to-back national 
championships.
  Finally, if there is any sport that requires more dedication than 
hockey it is wrestling, and for the University of Minnesota Golden 
Gophers to win that championship means an awful lot.
  So again congratulations to all of the Gophers and the Bulldogs for 
their amazing dedication in winning these national championships. I 
hope my colleagues will please excuse us if our buttons seem to be 
bursting today, but we are extremely proud of the accomplishments of 
these young athletes. They demonstrate the pursuit of excellence is 
alive and well. It is living in Minnesota.
  Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to 
the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar).
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. 
Kildee) for yielding me the time, and I will be brief, but the 
University of Minnesota-Duluth women's hockey team is in my 
Congressional district, and I have visited with the team members on 
many occasions and especially with Chancellor Kathryn Martin, who is 
the first woman to hold the position of chancellor of the University of 
Minnesota-Duluth. It was under her leadership that the women's hockey 
program was nurtured and developed to the national prominence it has 
achieved.
  If any person who is looking for a display of pure hockey as it 
should be played with skill, with passing precision and respect for 
players on each side of the rink, they should have followed the women's 
NCAA frozen four championship rounds because there one saw the display 
of hockey at its very best, without the body slams, without the sticks 
in the face, but with skill, precision passing, skill of skating and 
speed and superb demonstration of goalie skill on both sides of the 
rink.
  All the teams that participated credited themselves remarkably by 
their display of sportsmanship and skill, but there is only one team 
that wins and 2-years in a row it has been the University of Minnesota-
Duluth women's hockey team, and this year they were joined by their 
brothers, the men's hockey team. UMD was there before them.

[[Page H1745]]

                              {time}  1830

  They won back-to-back championships. And this year, the men's hockey 
team won as well. As my colleague, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. 
Gutknecht) noted, the men's wrestling team won as well.
  I might add a footnote to all this pride in hockey. The University of 
Minnesota Duluth Theater Troop has, for the fifth time in the 34 years 
of the competition, won the Kennedy Center National Collegiate Theater 
Competition. And for the second time in 3 years, drama is also a part 
of the human spirit.
  To Kathryn Martin's credit, she has nurtured the drama program; 
herself a theater and drama professor and coach, she has nurtured this 
program. And to the great credit of UMD, the theater troop, for the 
second time in 3 years, was one of the four final winners of the 
Kennedy Center Theater Performance.
  University of Minnesota on the athletic side as well as on the 
intellectual and spiritual side of lifting the human spirit has 
contributed enormously to the northland. And to all the scholar 
athletes and scholar theater performers who have participated and won 
national honors, as the gentleman said, our buttons indeed are bursting 
a bit. It is appropriate for us to offer this recognition on the House 
floor.
  I thank the gentleman for the time, and I congratulate the University 
of Minnesota Duluth and the University of Minnesota main campus on 
their achievements.
  Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume 
to conclude by commending the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Kennedy) on 
offering the resolution, and I encourage my colleagues in the House to 
support it.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Whitfield). The question is on the 
motion offered by the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Isakson) that the 
House suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. 
Res. 391.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the concurrent resolution was 
agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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