University of Minnesota Athletics
Whalen Selected to U.S. Women's Olympic Team
4/10/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
April 10, 2012
USA Basketball announced that former University of Minnesota standout Lindsay Whalen was selected as one of the first 11 members of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Women's Basketball Team. Whalen's Minnesota Lynx teammates, Seimone Augustus and Maya Moore, were also selected to represent the United States at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
"Well, you know, you're talking about Lindsay Whalen and Seimone Augustus and Maya Moore, (they) are three of the best players in the WNBA," head coach Geno Auriemma said of the trio of Lynx players on the roster. "And they do have great chemistry together, and they did have an unbelievable season and they won the WNBA Championship. So you can see not only the talent, but they are unselfish and competitive and they know how to win."
Along with Whalen, Augustus and Moore, the squad features a trio of two-time Olympic gold medalists, four athletes who have each earned one Olympic gold medal and four newcomers to the Olympic stage. The well-balanced and talented core of the U.S. squad will compete for the USA's fifth-consecutive Olympic gold medal in London this summer.
The athletes were selected by the USA Basketball Women's National Team Player Selection Committee, approved by the USA Basketball Board of Directors and are pending final approval by the U.S. Olympic Committee. One slot remains for the eventual 12-member U.S. squad and the final athlete will be selected at a later date.
For Whalen, the opportunity is the latest in a string of surreal moments. Six years after leading Minnesota to the NCAA Final Four, she joined the Lynx and helped the franchise win its first WNBA title last season.
"It's unbelievable; I've worked really hard, but I've also been really fortunate to be a part of lots of great teams and have had lots of folks who were great teammates," Whalen said in a release. "I think that's something that I'll always appreciate."
Whalen said she was stunned when she heard the news that she was selected.
"I was really excited," she said. "I didn't really know what to say at first. I'm kind of still so happy. It's one of those things I've dreamt about since I was growing up and something I've worked for."
While at Minnesota, Whalen was a two-time Wade Trophy and Naismith Award finalist. As a senior, she was named to the Kodak All-America First Team, the USBWA All-America Second Team and the AP All-America Second Team. Whalen led Minnesota to its first Final Four Appearance in 2004, one of three-straight NCAA Tournament appearances for the Golden Gophers, before being selected fourth overall in the 2004 WNBA Draft.
She holds Minnesota career records in points, scoring average, games in double figures, free throws made and free throw percentage.
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