Terrapin greats Katie O’Donnell and Keli Smith Puzo were named to the 16-member Olympic team and will head to London, announced Monday by U.S. head coach Lee Bodimeade.
Seven players make a return to the Olympic Games, including Smith Puzo, who graduated from Maryland in 2002. The U.S. will look to record their first Olympic medal since 1984, after finishing eighth at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
“One of the things that we have been able to achieve since Beijing is increasing the depth and ability of the entire squad,” said Bodimeade. “To go from 25 athletes down to 16 was an extremely difficult task and one that had some really tough decisions that needed to be made. We had 16 rookies at the Olympics in 2008 and now to have seven athletes with that experience on the Olympic Team puts us in a much better position heading to London.”
“As a former Terp, Olympian and now assistant field hockey coach, I would like to congratulate Keli Smith Puzo and Katie O’Donnell for being selected to compete in the 2012 London Olympic games,” Dina Rizzo said. “The University of Maryland is honored to have two Terp alums representing our county this summer in London. I can say from my experience that competing in the Olympics is a dream come true.” Rizzo competed in Beijing in 2008. from umterps.com
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