After four Olympic appearances with the U.S. Women’s Hockey National Team, former Harvard hockey star Angela Ruggiero ’02-04 announced on Wednesday that she is hanging up her skates.
Ruggiero, 31, retires as the all-time leader in games played for the national team. In her 256 career contests, Ruggiero amassed 208 points, with 67 goals and 141 assists. The defender won a medal in all four of her Olympic showings, including the gold in the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, when she was a still a senior in high school.
Success followed Ruggiero to Harvard, where she helped the Crimson win the NCAA National Championship in 1999. During her collegiate career, the Simi Valley, Calif. native scored 96 goals, giving her the sixth highest total—and the most among defenders—in program history.
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It truly is the most wonderful time of the year. On Dec. 25, we all shared in a gift that is way better than any Christmas sweater or box of chocolates. Yep, professional basketball is back. To ring in the good times, we at The Back Page have set out to find the best NBA match for several of Harvard’s own ballers. Which NBA player is most like each Crimson star? Keep reading to find out.
Brandyn Curry - 6.7 PPG, 4.8 Assists, 1.9 Rebounds, 2.1 steals (2011-2012 season)
The North Carolina native was recruited for his poise and leadership and was ranked as the second best high school point guard in the state behind some guy named John Wall. Suiting up for the Crimson for the first time in 2009, Curry made an immediate impact, taking home two Ivy League Rookie of the Week awards.
So far this season, Curry, now a junior, has continued his ascent. At November’s Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, Curry’s leadership was lauded by Harvard coach Tommy Amaker. The point guard shut down Utah’s biggest offensive threat in the opening round and then hit a crucial three-pointer to ice a close contest against then-No.22 Florida State. So which professional comparison did that performance earn him?
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Lizzy Fitzhenry, a freshman on Radcliffe heavyweight crew, was recognized on Tuesday for her pre-Harvard success.
Fitzhenry’s Saratoga Junior Women’s Pair was voted 2011 “Crew of the Year” by row2k.com, one of the world’s most heavily trafficked rowing websites.
As high school seniors, Fitzhenry and her partner Kristina Wagner, currently a freshman at Yale, won the Junior Pair, the Under 23 pair, and the Championship Pair at the Canadian Henley. They also came in second place at the USRowing Elite Nationals.
“We were so excited and surprised,” Fitzhenry said regarding the poll results. “But we trained really hard over the summer and had a strong finish to our season.”
Row2k welcomes “Crew of the Year” nominations from its readers, seeking crews who have had particularly exceptional seasons or have overcome obstacles to achieve victory. From the reader-nominated crews, row2k chooses 10 finalists. The winner is then selected by poll voting.
Over 8,500 total votes were cast this year, resulting in a very tight finish for the “Crew of the Year” title. Fitzhenry’s crew only narrowly defeated last year's Cal Freshman Eight by 1.2% to win the vote. The Golden Bears were nominated by virtue of their undefeated season in which they won the freshman eight event at the IRA national championships and won the Temple Cup at Henley Royal Regatta while setting a course record in the event. Cal and Saratoga traded leads throughout the voting period, but a final push gave Fitzhenry and Wagner the win.
“We were so thankful for all of our friends, families and teammates who voted for us,” Fitzhenry said.
In addition to Fitzhenry, other Harvard rowers were also recognized by row2k. The US Women’s Eight, with Radcliffe crew alumna Esther Lofgren '07-’09, was selected as a finalist in the competition based on its sixth straight World Championship, and the Harvard men’s freshman eight received a nomination.
The New York Knicks acquired Jeremy Lin ’10 on Tuesday in an attempt to bolster their injury-ridden guard reserve. Seeing as there are several key absences to the Knicks lineup, the former Harvard standout should see playing time right away. But what can Lin expect in the near future?
After a two-game preseason and one game of the new campaign, the Knicks backcourt is already hampered by two key losses: Mike Bibby from old-man syndrome back and foot issues and Iman Shumpert due to a strained right MCL. Veteran point guard Baron Davis, added in the preseason with a preexisting condition (herniated disc), is still 4-8 weeks away from stepping onto the hardwood. That leaves the Knickerbockers with just Toney Douglas, a combo guard, as the team’s only player fit to play point guard. Lin should play Wednesday night against his former team, the Golden State Warriors, despite having only one day to learn the team’s playbook—but cramming should be nothing new to the Harvard grad.
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This morning, another chapter was added to the Jeremy Lin ’10 claim-and-release saga. According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, the New York Knicks claimed the Harvard alum less than three days after he was released by the Houston Rockets.
This move to New York is only the latest high in the roller coaster of Lin’s last few weeks. On Dec. 9, he was let go from the Golden State Warriors to establish salary-cap space for DeAndre Jordan, a center who did not end up signing with the team.
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