Student-athletes attract international attention
Members of Gallaudet’s women’s soccer team are
quickly becoming stars. The team drastically improved its record
this fall, and now three players have caught the eye of both local
and international organizations.
Juniors Katie Romano and Amelia Palmer, along with senior Nicole
Lanning, have each stood out for their outstanding athletic
abilities. Romano and Palmer were recently invited to join the USA
Athletes International soccer team for the 2007 Pacific
International Soccer Tournament in Australia. Lanning gained
recognition in another sport when she took home the gold in the
snowboarding competition at the 2007 Deaflympics in Salt Lake City,
Utah.
“I was thrilled because it's a great honor for me to
represent the USA team,” said Romano. “It's also a
great opportunity for me to move up to a higher level in my
soccer career.”
Palmer agreed. “I was shocked at first but at the same time
honored,” she said.
The event, set to take place on Australia’s Gold Coast June
20 to July 2, will bring together talented athletes for competition
and cultural exchange. One challenge they must meet is raising
$4,500 each to cover the cost of their trip.
As far as athletic preparation goes, Romano is in top shape. She
is one of the few players to accomplish a “hat trick”
by scoring three times in one game. Romano did this not once, but
in three games this past season, overall scoring 14 goals.
In 2005, Romano was part of the gold medal-winning women’s
soccer team in the Deaflympics in Melbourne, Australia, and helped
the semi-professional women’s football team, the D.C. Divas,
win the 2006 Super Bowl.
Palmer, who is originally from Ontario, Canada, just completed her
second year of playing for Bison soccer. As goalie, she averages an
impressive 18 saved goals per game.
Palmer and Romano both have strong academic standings, majoring in
therapeutic recreation and physical education, respectively. Both
list graduate school as an aspiration for the near future. Romano
also hopes to travel the world and later establish a sports camp
for deaf children. Palmer also wants to keep traveling, perhaps
developing a taste for it during a study course in Paris, France.
Later, she plans to work in physical therapy.
Lanning, a recreation major and business minor, played Bison
soccer as a first-year student and again this year as a senior.
This is the third straight time she has been selected for the
Deaflympics team.
Women’s soccer head coach Mark Amissah, an
employment/internship advisor in the Career Center, admires his
players’ strong drive to succeed. “They have hearts for
competition,” he said. “You will not believe it until
you see them play... I am proud of them.”
With Amissah’s guidance and a group of strong players, the
team went from a 3-win, 16-loss season in 2005 to a 7-win, 12-loss
season in 2006. Amissah sees a steady climb from there. “The
future of the team is continuous hard work to improve our winning
percentages and send more players to international
competitions” he said.
Information compiled by Rhea Kennedy, Gallaudet University
Public Relations
