Ruggiero Leaves Harvard to Train for the 2002 Olympics

Angela Ruggiero--1998 Olympic Gold Medalist--did everything on and off the ice to make her first two years at Harvard the greatest two years in the history of Harvard women's ice hockey. She has been the best defenseman in collegiate hockey and the leading scorer at her position each of the last two seasons. Few would question her status as the best defender in the world.

The memories of her play in the clutch are still fresh: her game-tying assist in the 1999 ECAC final, her lead-off goal in the 1999 National final, and her scorching slapshot from the blueline in last year's fatal loss to Dartmouth that would have saved Harvard's season had it not been stolen out of the air by Amy Ferguson's high glove.

Those memories will have to be savored for now, because Ruggiero will not be seen in a Crimson uniform for the next two years. In the meantime, she will join the U.S. National Team in Lake Placid, N.Y. to devote herself full-time to training for the 2002 Olympic Games, before returning to Harvard the following September.

The National Team Exodus

"It was by far the hardest decision I've ever had to make," Ruggiero said. "I was right in the mix, excited to play at Harvard and take my junior classes, but to take a year off right now--it was so hard to say goodbye."

It was expected that the Olympics would deprive college hockey of its best players in the 2001-02 season. Ruggiero and co-captain Jennifer Botterill had planned on postponing their senior seasons to play for the American and Canadian National Teams, respectively.

But unexpectedly, U.S.A. Hockey drained the talent pool for the coming season. Last March, the word was out that the U.S. National Team was plucking the top players from the college ranks. Providence goalkeeper Sarah DeCosta, Brown defenseman Tara Mounsey, Minnesota's Winny Brodt and Princeton's Annamarie Holmes were the first to go.

It seemed natural that Ruggiero would ultimately follow suit, but she initially remained committed to Harvard hockey. She was elected tri-captain of the 2000-01 team along with Botterill and senior forward Angie Francisco.

Ruggiero continued to brood over the decision through the coming months, frequently discussing the decision with her Harvard teammates.

"I had been talking to her all summer," Botterill said. "She was still trying to decide in August."

Towards the end of August, Ruggiero played in a three-game series against Canada with the U.S. Women's Under-22 Select Team. Her roommate during this time was Harvard sophomore defenseman Jaime Hagerman.

"I had been talking to her throughout the summer, and while we were on the U-22 national team, we were roommates, and we were always talking, weighing the pros and cons of leaving," Hagerman said.

Harvard Coach Katey Stone was also at the national camp with Ruggiero.

"When I was at the national camp, I pretty much figured she would come back," Stone said. "But she got a bit of pressure to go play with the national team, and that made the difference. It was a very tough decision for her, but to get one thing you have to give up another. It was a very difficult, stressful time. We obviously were in support of whatever she decided to do."

Ruggiero made the commitment to the national team just two weeks before the start of school. She informed Stone of the decision in the final days of August. In the end, it was the commitment of her fellow national teammates and the desire to maximize her chance of winning the Olympic gold in front of her home crowd that convinced her to leave Harvard.

"I had pressure on both sides, but in the end it was my own decision," Ruggiero said. "I think the opportunity to train with the team is something I really needed. I would have been the only member of the team not there. U.S.A. Hockey has just provided us with a good schedule and everything. It's an opportunity of a lifetime, one that I've had twice now. I just needed to come up here and dedicate myself full time to developing this talent I have and play hockey."

Saying Goodbye

During the first week of school, Ruggiero came back to Harvard and spoke with the women's hockey team at the year's first team meeting.

"People just kind of found out I was leaving," Ruggiero said. "I was there first week of school, getting my stuff together, saying goodbye. It was just something I had to do. It was very emotional - there were tears the whole day. But I've got to take chances. I didn't want to go the Olympics and say what if. [Harvard] is such an unbelievable team, on and off the ice."

Ruggiero's Crimson teammates naturally understood her decision, yet were sad to see her go.

"You always want to play with the best of the best, and she is the best in the world," Hagerman said. "I get better playing alongside her."

"It was definitely emotional- but we're all supportive of her decision," said Botterill, who was also Ruggiero's roommate last year. "She's a great person, friend, and teammate."

Ruggiero's absence will make it considerably more difficult for Harvard to win its second national title in three years.

"It was not easy to see her leave, because we had very high hopes for this season," Stone said. "I don't know if it was in her best interests to leave, because there's so much going on here."

Leaving was triply painful, as Ruggiero had to leave behind her team, her friends, and her school.

"Now, when I come back in two years, all my friends will have graduated," Ruggiero said. "But I just thought it was a great opportunity. I needed to develop to play in the Olympics."

Life with the U.S. National Team

Although training full-time with an Olympic hockey team may sound like an arduous lifestyle, Ruggiero has found it to be much less stressful than the rigors of being a student-athlete at Harvard.

"It's different here, because I actually have free time," Ruggiero said. "Our day here begins at 6:45. I skate at 9:00, lift at 2:00, and I'm all done at 4:00. After 4:00, we have free time to do whatever we want. While at Harvard, I have no free time."

Lake Placid may have been the focus of the world during the Miracle on Ice in the 1980 Olympics, but it is hardly a busy place in this day and age. The environment free from distractions has allowed Ruggiero to develop new pursuits.

"It's a small town, so there's really nothing to do in Lake Placid," Ruggiero said. "So I've been reading on my own a lot. I volunteered at a nursing home, which has been a great experience for me. I've been trying guitar and yoga. You really get to find your interests."

U.S.A. Hockey has allowed Ruggiero to live the consummate fantasy of many college students--to leave school and develop one particular talent free of all other obstacles.

Going for the Gold

Ruggiero was hardly the only member of the U.S. National Team that needed to make sacrifices in order to train full-time.

"A.J. Mleczko ['99] got married four days before camp started," Ruggiero said. "She missed the first week of camp for her honeymoon. There are three high school kids here, and they're submitting their work over the computer."

Ruggiero certainly understands the experience of being part of the National Team in high school. While a student at Choate Rosemary Hall in Connecticut, she started playing internationally when she was only 15. She was 18 years old when she won her Gold Medal with the U.S. team in the 1998 Nagano Olympics.

"At Choate in '98, we had trimesters, and I just missed the first two trimesters and came back for the third," Ruggiero said. "We didn't really have to make sacrifices. I just took extra classes at Choate to make up for it."

United by a shared sense of commitment and sacrifice, the U.S National Team is fully dedicated towards bringing home another gold medal. Although the U.S. National Team is the defending Olympic champion, it is not the favorite by any stretch. The Canadians have won just about every other international competition to date, including all six International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships.

In the 2000 final at Mississauga, Ontario, the United States blew a 2-0 third period lead and fell 3-2 in overtime [with Botterill assisting on the first Canadian goal]. Finland also had its most competitive tournament ever, coming within a goal of both the Canadians and the Americans. In other words, the U.S. National Team has plenty of work to do.

"This is the first year we've been practicing full time," Ruggiero said. "The pre-Olympic stakes are higher, and the Olympics are in our own country. Right now we're seeded second - we're underdogs again. But we really want to win the Gold Medal in front of our own crowd."

The Canadian national team has taken a different approach to developing its talent for the Olympics. While the U.S. Select Team is the only place for older American hockey players to compete, there is a senior women's hockey league in Canada.

The existence of the senior league means the Canadians do not have to centralize as early as the Americans. That has allowed collegiate national team players, like Botterill and Harvard teammate Tammy Shewchuk, to stay in school for the vast majority of this year.

"Both teams are improving so rapidly," Botterill said. "They're both great teams, but we have different approaches. We [Canadians] just feel players are better developing [on their own], and then when we meet up, its new, and exciting--a change of pace that builds our confidence."

Stepping Up

With Ruggiero gone for two years, the Crimson will be hard-pressed to win another national title.

Compounding the void left by Ruggiero's absence this season will be Botterill and Shewchuk's departure in early November to play for Canada in the Four Nations Cup. Harvard will be shorthanded for its first four games of the season, including a home matchup against defending national champion Minnesota.

"It will certainly be a very different look this season," Stone said. "But we'll work hard, step up, and play a lot of hockey. It'll be exciting."

The Crimson returns four defensemen to this year's squad: senior veterans Jaime Notman and Julie Rando, plus promising sophomores Jaime Hagerman and Pam Van Reesema. Both sophomores made significant contributions to the team as freshmen. Van Ressema often started alongside Ruggiero, and Hagerman was an ECAC All-Rookie selection.

Ruggiero has no doubt in their ability to come through in her absence.

"Definitely, they'll step up," Ruggiero said. "Notman and Rando are veterans who have been around for a while. Pam's got so much potential. I think this will be a really big year for Hagerman, because now she has a chance to really lead the defense. She can do it. She's been to the USA Hockey camps. I know she worked really hard this summer and she has a lot to prove this year."

On November 18th, the same day as the renewal of the Harvard-Yale football rivalry, Harvard will head off to Hanover, N.H. to play Dartmouth. It will be the Crimson's first chance at revenge against the team that ruined its national title hopes last season. Ruggiero will definitely be listening to the radio broadcast.

"Dartmouth - I wanted to come back more than anything else just to play Dartmouth," Ruggiero said. "They're such a good team. We owe them so much. But I know our team can do it this year. I believe in them. They can win if the focus is on who is there and what they can do with them."

Watch Out in 2002-03

Like Mleczko before her, Ruggiero says she has every intention of coming back for her remaining two years of eligibility after the Olympics. One oddity with her situation is that last year's freshman class will be seniors when she returns, while she will be listed as a junior.

"Yeah, I realized that all the freshman from last year will be seniors," Ruggiero said. "That's not fair! I initiated you!"

Ruggiero has every expectation that Harvard will still be a national title contender upon her return.

"I know we had a great freshman class last year, and I know some of the new players on the team this year," Ruggiero said. "Hopefully we'll get some good recruiting so we'll have a strong team when I come back."

The expectation of playing with a talent like Ruggiero would certainly be a boon to Harvard's recruiting. According to Stone, Botterill will also return for the remainder of her eligibility after the Olympics. The last time the pair came together after an Olympic year, the team went 33-1-0. With Ruggiero and Botterill reunited, Harvard undoubtedly would be capable of returning to such previously uncharted heights.