Oct. 29, 2008

• UNC Global: Perspectives on China

By Helen Buchanan
UNC Athletic Communications

The list of Carolina Tar Heels that have participated in the Olympics is ever growing, but it is always a special honor to be a student-athlete and an Olympian concurrently.

Katelyn Falgowski, a sophomore midfielder from Landenberg, Pa., was the only current college player to attend the 2008 Beijing games as a member of the United States field hockey team. To her though, high achievement seems to come with the territory.

Just a few highlights on her athletic resume: member of U.S. National Team since 2005, four-time high school All-America, played in the 2007 Pan American Games and the 2006 World Cup, named ACC Freshman of the Year in 2007, led the nation in assists her freshman season with 21, and earned spots on the 2007 All-ACC and All-NCAA Tournament squads.

The Olympic experience is certainly something to be proud of and is the epitome of athletic success in the eyes of the international community. All the years of hard work to even get a chance to reach the Olympics are certainly never forgotten. It is a rough road, and many times, it is never reached - but sometimes that miracle just happens.

Beijing was the first Olympics that USA Field Hockey qualified for since Atlanta hosted the games in 1996. It was by a slim margin, too, because the women's field was expanded in 2005 to include 12 teams instead of the original 10. The USA team was ranked 11th.

Falgowski says that the moment she and the rest of Team USA walked out of the tunnel onto the field of the Bird's Nest for the Opening Ceremonies was possibly the most inspiring of her life.

"We were going through the tunnel," says Falgowski, "And all of a sudden someone started a U-S-A chant. And it just carried itself through the entire body of athletes. To hear your fellow Team USA members, like the basketball team and the swimmers and volleyball, everyone chanting U-S-A, that was just ... it gives me chills still."

Don't think that the Olympics were all work and no play for Falgowski. Before the games started as well as after the field hockey events were over, she was able to spend time with her family seeing the sights of Beijing. There was also time to just hang out with her teammates in the Olympic Village, where all of the athletes stayed during the Games.

"The Village was amazing," says Falgowski. "China put on an excellent show. There were so many workers that were just always pointing us in the right direction and telling us where to go."

And then there were the other athletes to see. Needless to say, it was easy to get star-struck.

"I mean, you'd just be walking down and you'd see Michael Phelps and then Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal," says Falgowski. "It was amazing. Some days you'd be walking around, you'd forget where you were and you'd get caught up in the whole thing. And you'd be like `I have to focus, I'm here to try and win.'"

Of the 16 players on the U.S. team, 11 are former or current Atlantic Coast Conference players and six of those are from UNC. Falgowski was joined on the team by former Tar Heels Kate Barber (1994-97), Rachel Dawson (2003-07), Jesse Gey (2004-07), Carrie Lingo (1999-2001) and Amy Tran (1999-2002).

The other five ACC players were from Wake Forest University and the University of Maryland, with another four from Old Dominion. All three programs have big rivalries with Carolina, but Falgowski says it wasn't hard to form team bonds with those players, especially since most of them were older than her so she never got the chance to play against them.

The U.S. team ended up earning an eighth place finish, but the Olympics were only the start of the season for Falgowski. She still had classes and the start of her sophomore season waiting for her back in Chapel Hill.

"I was really looking forward to getting back and becoming a normal college athlete again," says Falgowski. "The team was so supportive and when I came back, they were actually all at my house to welcome me when I first came in."

Juggling schoolwork and practice while dealing with jetlag made the transition hard at first, but Falgowski says her teammates and friends helped make it a lot easier.

"I really learned this past year just to play for the game because you love it," she says. "Being out there with your friends and your teammates, you just play your hardest and let the outcome take care of itself."

But the bar is still high for Carolina's field hockey program. The defending national champions are looking to earn back-to-back titles. Falgowski hopes that her experiences both from her freshman year and the Olympics can help achieve that goal.

"I'm just really trying to bring back the experience that I have and try and show some leadership on the team," she says. "I'm just trying to be that steady force right now that can keep the team glued together and solid."