Three Alums Make US Olympic Team

With the Winter Olympics less than two months away, the US women’s hockey team is set, and three Harvard skaters will be making the trip to Vancouver.

Angela Ruggiero ’02-’04, Julie Chu ’06-’07, and Caitlin Cahow ’07-’08 are among the 21 players on the Olympic roster, which was released Thursday.

The Harvard alums have each been to at least one Games previously, with Ruggiero, a defenseman, a veteran of every American squad since women’s hockey became an Olympic sport in 1998.

Chu, a forward, made the team in 2002 and 2006, while Cahow, a defenseman, played for the US in 2006.

The Vancouver Games begin on Feb. 12 and the American team opens preliminary play on Feb. 14 against China. The US will enter the Olympics with a No. 1 world ranking, having won the last two world titles.

The Americans’ main rival in Vancouver will be Canada, the two-time defending Olympic champion. Jennifer Botterill ’01-’03 and Sarah Vaillancourt ’08-’09, both Olympic veterans, are competing for spots on the Canadian roster.

Ruggiero, Chu and Cahow will face off against the ECAC All-Star team—including Crimson skaters co-captain Cori Bassett, senior Anna McDonald, and junior Kate Buesser—in an exhibition game on Jan. 3 at Quinnipiac.