SPORTS BRIEF: Botterill, Vaillancourt Headed to Vancouver

When the Winter Olympics open on Feb. 12, two Harvard alumnae will get the chance to defend their gold medal on home ice.

Jennifer Botterill ’01-’03 and Sarah Vaillancourt ’08-’09 are among the 21 skaters named to the Canadian Olympic women’s hockey roster, which was released Monday.

Botterill, a forward, has played in every Games since women’s hockey became an Olympic sport in 1998. Vaillancourt, also a forward, skated in the 2006 Torino Games.

Botterill and Vaillancourt were both recipients of the Patty Kazmaier Award—given to the best player in collegiate women’s hockey—during their Crimson careers.

Canada, the two-time defending Olympic champion, opens group play Feb. 13 against Slovakia. Though the Canadian team has lost the last two World Championships to the United States, the squad will enjoy home-ice advantage in Vancouver.

Botterill and Vaillancourt join former teammates Angela Ruggiero ’02-’04, Julie Chu ’06-’07 and Caitlin Cahow ’07-’08 as 2010 Olympians. Ruggiero, Chu and Cahow were named to the US team last week.

—KATE LEIST