Aug. 1, 2008
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara University will have two of its former athletics stars represent the United States this summer at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Aly Wagner `02 will play midfield for the Olympic women's soccer team, while Matt Madigan `91 will coach the women's rowing quadruple scull.
Wagner returns to China after recently completing her second run with women's soccer at the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup in September. For Wagner this is the second time she was selected as a member of the Olympic squad, as she represented the United States in 2004, when the women claimed the god medal in Athens. Wagner put together a stellar collegiate career at Santa Clara, claiming the Honda Award as the nation's top women's soccer player after leading the Broncos to their only national title in 2001, and capturing the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy in 2002 after leading Santa Clara back to the national title game and finishing as national runner-up. She was also a three-time All-American as well as the West Coast Player of the Year and College Cup MVP in 2001.
 Aly Wagner will participate in her second Olympics this August.  |
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Women's soccer will open play on Aug. 6 against Norway in Qinhuangdao, China. The USA will then face Japan on Aug. 9, also in Qinhuangdao, before finishing Group G play against New Zealand on Aug. 12 in Shenyang.
Madigan was a member of the Santa Clara men's crew team from 1988-91 and was a part of the 1991 Pacific Coast Championship team in the Varsity 4 event. The Broncos defeated a field of 13 boats including the University of Washington, Cal, Stanford and UCLA. SCU headed into the event as the No. 1 seed in the South after winning the California State Championship and the Heart of Texas regatta in Austin. The Broncos registered a blistering time of 6:48 for the 2000-meter course, which automatically qualified them for Nationals. Madigan graduated in 1991 with a degree in accounting and remained involved with the rowing community by making the transition from a national team athlete to a club coach at the Potomac Boat Club in Washington, D.C. He's work with athletes that have gone on to win the US National the past eight years as well as six Pan American Games medalist, two World Cup medalists and two World Championship medalists. Madigan was selected as a coach fro the US Olympic team after working with the women's quadruple scull who finished second at the World Cup in Lucerne, Switzerland. He currently serves as director of operations for FortiusOne, a consulting firm based out of Arlington, Va.
Rowing at the 2008 Olympic Games begins Aug. 9 and runs through August 17. Finals are set for Aug. 16-17. The competition will take place at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park, located in Mapo Town in the Shunyi district of Beijing.
Santa Clara also boasts two non-former student-athlete graduates in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Mary McConneloug '93 qualified for the Cross Country Mountain Biking team, while Janet Culp '04 was named to the U.S. Synchronized Swimming team.