Four MN Lynx Players Make 2016 U.S. Olympic Roster

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL – USA Basketball today announced that Lynx players Seimone Augustus, Sylvia Fowles, Maya Moore and Lindsay Whalen were among 12 players named to the final 2016 U.S. Olympic Women’s Basketball Team. This is the fifth consecutive Olympic year in which the Lynx have been represented on the final Olympic roster, with Augustus (2008, 2012), Maya Moore (2012), Lindsay Whalen (2012) and Katie Smith (2000, 2004) previously donning the red, white and blue. This summer, Team USA will look to earn a record sixth-straight gold medal in Rio.

“It’s extremely exciting to have another opportunity to play with the best players in the world,” said Lynx forward, Maya Moore. “It’s just a special time in the history of USA Basketball because of the level of talent, from top to bottom, that we have with the opportunity to continue to make history with our legacy of winning gold medals. It’s a lot of pressure, but it’s an exciting challenge.”

After winning the gold medal with Team USA in 2008 and 2012, Seimone Augustus (6-0, guard) is looking to repeat the success in Rio this year. She helped Team USA sweep their way through the Olympic Games in 2008, averaging 7.9 points and 2.3 rebounds per game in eight games and again in 2012, averaging 7.8 points and 2.5 rebounds in eight games.

Fowles (6-5, center) also earned gold with Team USA in 2008 and 2012. In Beijing, she helped Team USA sweep the tournament, averaging 13.4 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. In 2012, she averaged 6.0 ppg (61.1%) and 3.6 rpg in five appearances for Team USA in London.

Moore (6-0, forward), will make her second Olympic appearance with Team USA after earning gold at the London Games where she averaged 9.0 points and 5.6 rebounds per game in eight games.

Whalen (5-9, guard) is also making her second trip to the Olympic Games as a part of Team USA. As a member of the 2012 Olympic team, Whalen averaged 8.0 points and 2.9 rebounds per game in eight games with Team USA in London.

Joining the Lynx players on the final roster are: Sue Bird (Seattle Storm), Tamika Catchings (Indiana Fever), Tina Charles (New York Liberty), Elena Delle Donne (Chicago Sky), Brittney Griner (Phoenix Mercury), Angel McCoughtry (Atlanta Dream), Breanna Stewart (Seattle Storm) and Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury).

Team USA is seeking its sixth consecutive and eighth overall gold, as well as extending its 41-game Olympic winning streak. The 2016 Olympic basketball tournament will be held from August 6 - 20 in Rio de Janeiro at the Deodoro Youth Arena (preliminary round) and all remaining games will be played at Barra Carioca Arena 1.

Olympic gold medal winner Billy Mills to speak at NDSU on April 1

Fargo, N.D., March 29, 2016 – Olympic athlete Billy Mills is scheduled to bring his message of “The Pursuit of Excellence” to North Dakota State University on Friday, April 1, at 7 p.m. in Sudro Hall, 1401 Albrecht Blvd., Room 27. The appearance by Mills, hosted by the Department of Public Health in the College of Health Professions at NDSU, is free and open to the public.

Mills won the gold medal in track and field in the 10,000-meter race at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. His inspiring come-from-behind victory is considered one of the greatest Olympic upsets of all time. Mills, a former lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps, is a member of the Oglala Lakota.

A co-founder of the non-profit group Running Strong for American Indian Youth, Mills’ message of pursuing excellence and of battling diabetes provides inspiring lessons for life and for public health. His work includes speaking about diabetes prevention and management, especially for youth. As a diabetic himself, Mills offers information, as well as inspiration, on maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Mills collaborated with Dr. Siobhan Wescott, who teaches public health at NDSU, to create a health education film featuring his presentation. Titled “Conquering Chronic Disease with Olympian Billy Mills,” the 38-minute film is available free of charge through the Sanford Research website or at www.facebook.com/conquerdisease. 

Born in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, Mills attended the University of Kansas on an athletic scholarship. He was an NCAA All-America Cross Country runner three times and won an individual title in the Big Eight in cross country. He was inducted into the U.S. National Track and Field Hall of Fame, the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame, and the National Distance Running Hall of Fame. He was the subject of the movie Running Brave and is the author of Lessons of a Lakota and co-author of Wokini: A Lakota Journey to Happiness and Understanding.

Mills was awarded the 2012 Presidential Citizens Medal for his work with the Running Strong for American Indian Youth organization. In 2014, Mills received the Theodore Roosevelt Award from the NCAA. For the 50th anniversary of his Olympic gold medal in 2014, Mills celebrated by founding Dreamstarter, which provides grants to jumpstart the dreams of Native American youth.

If you attend

Enter through the south doors or east doors of Sudro Hall to Room 27 in the lower level. Parking is available in the Visitor Lot directly south of Sudro Hall or in the Visitor Lot south of Memorial Union.

The event with Mills leads up to the inaugural American Indian Public Health Day on April 4 at NDSU. The day consists of holistic, health-focused events, held in conjunction with the American Public Health Association’s Public Health Week.

Five NDSU VB Players to Participate in U.S. Women’s National Open Tryouts

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.-- Five North Dakota State University volleyball players -- Brianna Rasmusson, Hadley Steffen, Mikaela Purnell, Emily Miron and Jessica Jorgensen -- will travel to the U.S. Olympic Training Center to take part in the U.S. Women's National Team Open Tryouts starting on Friday, Feb. 19 and running through Sunday, Feb. 21.

The tryout will evaluate approximately 231 athletes from 88 colleges from across the country for spots on the U.S. Women's National Team, the U.S. Collegiate National Teams program and U.S. Junior National Team. Miron earned one of 36 spots on the 2014 U.S. Collegiate National Team, while Megan Lambertson was selected to the 2012 U.S. Women's National A2 Team Program.

Bison Athletic Hall of Famer and AVCA Division II Player of the Year Janet Cobbs Mulholland a was member of U.S. National Team from 1989 to 1994, to playing on the Bronze Medal American team at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.

U.S. Women's National Team head coach Karch Kiraly and his staff will direct the tryout process. Kiraly is a three-time Olympic Gold Medalist and U.S. Olympic Hall of Famer. The tryout will involve four sessions with three waves per session. Friday's first session goes from 2-8 p.m. MT, while Saturday's sessions are at 8 a.m. (focus on serve/receive and individual work) and 2 p.m. (middle-centered and out-of-system focus). The tryout concludes at 8 a.m. Sunday with tournament style play, along with 16-18 athletes selected by the staff to participate in a "USA" training session.

All sessions of the tryout will be streamed live. USA Volleyball will use #USAVTryout as the tryout hashtag for photos, notes, quotes and stories posted to its social media platforms Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter and Instagram under the handle @usavolleyball.

Selected athletes will be notified by early March. USA Volleyball will announce the selections by the end of March once all roster spots are confirmed.

Bruno, Reeve & Staley To Be 2016 U.S. Olympic Women’s Basketball Team Assistant Coaches

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – After assisting USA head coach Geno Auriemma (University of Connecticut) to the gold medal and a 6-0 record at the 2014 FIBA World Championship, USA Basketball today announced DePaul University’s Doug Bruno, the Minnesota Lynx’ Cheryl Reeve and University of South Carolina’s Dawn Staley will return as assistant coaches for the USA Women’s National Team through the 2016 Olympic Games. The coaching staff was selected by the USA Basketball Women’s National Team Steering Committee, approved by the USA Basketball Board of Directors and is pending approval by the U.S. Olympic Committee.

The three coaches will work with Auriemma at various USA National Team training camps in 2015 and 2016 and with the 2016 U.S. Olympic Women’s Basketball Team at the 2016 Olympic Games, which will be held Aug. 5-21 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

This marks the second Olympic assistant coach assignment for both Bruno and Staley. Bruno was an assistant for Auriemma and the 2012 U.S. Olympic Women’s Basketball Team that also earned a perfect 8-0 mark and upped the USA’s Olympic gold-medal streak to five, a record for women’s traditional team sports. After retiring from international play in 2004 following her third Olympic gold medal, Staley was an assistant for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team that compiled an 8-0 record and captured the USA’s fourth-straight Olympic gold medal.

While the Rio Olympic Games will be Reeve’s first Olympic experience, she has plenty of experience coaching Olympians. Reeve won a pair of WNBA titles as a head coach with the Lynx (2011 and 2013), which featured three U.S. Olympians (Seimone Augustus, Maya Moore and Lindsay Whalen), and two as an assistant coach with the Detroit Shock (2006 and 2008), which also boasted a trio of Olympic champions (Swin Cash, Ruth Riley and Katie Smith) during her time.

A total of 12 nations will compete in the Olympic women’s basketball competition, including host Brazil and the USA, which earned its berth by virtue of claiming the gold medal at the 2014 FIBA World Championship. The gold-medal winning nations from each of the five FIBA zone Olympic qualifying tournaments in 2015 will also punch their tickets to Rio, while the remaining berths will be awarded to the top five finishing teams at the 2016 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament (dates and site TBD).

Having earned a record seven gold medals, one silver medal and one bronze medal in Olympic play, USA Basketball women’s teams are 58-3 all-time in Olympic competition and will enter Rio riding a remarkable 41-game Olympic winning streak that dates to the 1992 Barcelona Olympics bronze medal game.

Since the inception of the 1995-96 USA Basketball Women’s National Team program, the USA National Team, in addition to its record five-straight Olympic gold medals, has captured four FIBA World Championship gold medals, one FIBA World Championship bronze medal and one FIBA Americas Championship gold medal, while compiling a stunning 86-1 record for a .989 winning percentage in those events. Further, USA National Teams in exhibition contests since 1995 boast of a 186-15 record (.925 winning percentage).

Three Lynx Players Make 2012 U.S. Olympic Roster

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL - USA Basketball today announced that Lynx players Seimone Augustus, Maya Moore and Lindsay Whalen were among 11 players named to the final 2012 U.S. Olympic Women’s Basketball Team. This is the fourth consecutive Olympic year in which the Lynx have been represented on the final Olympic roster, with Augustus (2008) and Katie Smith (2000, 2004) previously donning the red, white and blue. One roster spot remains open for the eventual U.S. squad and will be filled by the National Team Player Selection Committee at a later date.

"We are extremely proud of Seimone, Maya and Lindsay for having the distinct opportunity to represent their country in the Olympics," said Lynx Executive Vice President Roger Griffith. “Each of these women is incredibly talented and we look forward to seeing them play in front of the entire world this summer. We wish them the best in their quest for gold this summer.”

 
After winning the gold medal with Team USA in 2008, Seimone Augustus (6-1, guard/forward) is looking to repeat the success in London this year. She helped Team USA sweep their way through the Olympics in 2008, averaging 7.9 points and 2.3 rebounds per game in eight games.
Moore (6-0, forward), who has a long history with USA Basketball, will make her first Olympic appearance with Team USA after the United States qualified for the London Olympics during the 2010 FIBA World Championship. She averaged 18.3 minutes during the competition, averaging 8.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.

Whalen (5-9, guard) is also making her first trip to the Olympics as a part of Team USA. A teammate of Moore’s on the 2010 USA World Championship Team, Whalen averaged 5.9 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 18.4 minutes off the bench during the competition. She scored a team-high 16 points to help lead the USA to victory in the second round over Canada.

Joining the Lynx players on the final roster are: Sue Bird (Seattle Storm), Swin Cash (Chicago Sky), Tamika Catchings (Indiana Fever), Tina Charles (Connecticut Sun), Sylvia Fowles (Chicago Sky), Angel McCoughtry (Atlanta Dream), Candace Parker (Los Angeles Sparks) and Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury).

Team USA is seeking its fifth consecutive and seventh overall gold medal, as well as extending its 33-game Olympic winning streak. The 2012 Olympic basketball tournament will be held from July 28 to August 12 in London at the Olympic Park Basketball Arena (preliminary round and quarterfinals) and North Greenwich Arena (semifinals and finals).

Four Lynx Among Finalists for 2012 USA Olympic Team

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL – USA Basketball today announced that Lynx players Seimone Augustus, Rebekkah Brunson, Maya Moore and Lindsay Whalen are among the 21 finalists for the 2012 USA Women's Olympic Team. The Lynx have been represented on the Olympic Team roster three times in franchise history: Augustus (2008) and Katie Smith (2000, 2004). The finalists were selected by the USA Basketball Women’s National Team Player Selection Committee.

"We are excited that they have a chance to be a part of this opportunity with USA Basketball," said Lynx Executive Vice President Roger Griffith. “We all have seen firsthand the impact these women have on a team and we wish them the best of luck in their efforts to make the final Olympic roster.”

No stranger to representing her country in international play, Augustus (6-1, guard/forward) is looking to play in the Olympics for the second time in her career after winning a gold medal in 2008. She appeared in all eight games off the bench in 2008, averaging 7.9 points and 2.3 rebounds per game, as the USA swept their way to the gold.

Brunson (6-2, forward) appeared in both the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship and 2003 Pan American Games with Team USA. Her performance in the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship helped Team USA qualify for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, averaging 9.0 points and 3.6 rebounds per contest as the U.S. went unbeaten.

Moore (6-0, forward) is looking to make the final roster after helping the U.S. qualify for the Olympics during the 2010 FIBA World Championship. She appeared in all nine games during the competition, averaging 8.7 points and 3.3 rebounds in 18.3 minutes per contest as the USA went unbeaten to secure their spot in London.

Whalen (5-9, guard) was also a member of the unbeaten 2010 FIBA World Championship team that avenged their 2006 bronze medal. She averaged 5.9 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 18.4 minutes off the bench, including scoring a team-high 16 points in their second round victory over Canada.

Joining the Lynx players as finalists are: Jayne Appel (San Antonio Silver Stars), Sue Bird (Seattle Storm), Swin Cash (Chicago Sky), Tamika Catchings (Indiana Fever), Tina Charles (Connecticut Sun), Candice Dupree (Phoenix Mercury), Sylvia Fowles (Chicago Sky), Brittney Griner (Baylor University), Lindsey Harding (Atlanta Dream), Asjha Jones (Connecticut Sun), Kara Lawson (Connecticut Sun), Angel McCoughtry (Atlanta Dream), Renee Montgomery (Connecticut Sun), Candace Parker (Los Angeles Sparks), Cappie Pondexter (New York Liberty), Diana Taurasi (Phoenxi Mercury) and Sophia Young (San Antonio Silver Stars).

The Olympic National Team is coached by University of Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma. He will be assisted on the Olympic coaching staff by DePaul University head coach Doug Bruno, Olympic gold medalist and Washington Mystics assistant coach Jennifer Gillom and Atlanta Dream head coach Marynell Meadors.

Team USA is seeking its fifth consecutive and seventh overall gold medal, as well as extending its 33-game Olympic winning streak. The 2012 Olympic basketball tournament will be held from July 28 to August 12 in the Olympic Park Basketball Arena (preliminary round and quarterfinals) and North Greenwich Arena (semifinals and finals).