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Gina Oliver, 2005 Women's Lacrosse

Who U

By Eric Burch

Gina Oliver was a defender on the Ohio State women's lacrosse team until her graduation in 2005. Oliver recently participated in the FIL World Cup in Prague for the United States team, which defeated Australia 8-7 in the championship match to reclaim the World Cup. Oliver graciously took time out of her day to grant UWeekly an interview.

It seems as though the United States and Australian teams were the two teams to beat in the tournament, would you agree with that?

Absolutely. They were the World Champs in 2005, so we knew they would be another team to contend with. However, Canada, Japan, and England definitely challenged everyone every day.

What did it take to shut out Australia in the second half of your first matchup with them and win in a huge comeback, 10-9?

It was a total team effort. Everyone had an assignment, a couple of us had mark ups. We played USA defense and our goalies came up big. It was amazing to be a part of [the tournament].

And was it that similar resolve which helped you to hold onto a lead late in the championship matchup?

It was similar. We always play better in the second half, but we knew the Aussies would give us a run. They were not going down without a fight. We held strong and Devon Wills made huge saves in the end. She's amazing and won the game for us.

How much does it mean to reclaim the championship against Australia after the United States team at the time lost the World Cup in America to that same Australian team four years ago?

You know ... it sounds cliché, but I cannot describe it. We had a lot of USA people jump on the Australian bandwagon. We did it for each other, the past, the present, and the future. We wrote our own story in the record books.

What is the process for being selected for the women's national lacrosse team? Did you expect to be selected? What was it like when you found out you had been selected?

Wow. Tryouts, tryouts, tryouts. Every year you have to try out to be on the USA team. I never expected I'd be selected, but I worked my butt off so that I could be one of the eighteen to compete for the World Cup. I nearly cried when I was selected. It was just a great feeling when a group of people believe in you that much. They believed that I was one person that could help the USA bring back the cup, and we did!

What was Prague like? Had you ever traveled outside the United States before?

Prague is beautiful! We [the USA team] came here last year for the Prague Cup. These two trips to Prague were the only two times I have been out of the U.S. The architecture and sculptures are so great, so much detail.

What is your role for the United States team, on the field and otherwise?

My role? Wow. Our defense was responsible for shutting down the other teams' greatest players. Michi Ellers, Amber Falcone, myself, and my goalies. That was our role. Shutting down Jen Adams, Dana Dobbie, and others wasn't easy, but we did a hell of a job!

You're one of the oldest members of the national team, did you feel you had a responsibility to be a leader for the team?

Absolutely not! Michele DeJuliis was the captain and leader of the team. I could not imagine what it would have been like without her. Being one of the oldest, I felt I just had to help the team gel. It wasn't hard, we did right from the beginning.

You graduated from Ohio State four years ago, what have you done since that time?

I have been coaching and playing since then.

Do you intend to continue to play for the US national team?

I have not decided what I plan to do with the US team. I am enjoying being a World Champion and being a part of history.

What is your favorite memory from your days at Ohio State?

Wow, a lot of memories! But two I will never forget: beating Maryland my freshman year when they were one of the top teams in the world and won a ridiculous amount of national championships, and beating fourth-ranked Duke in the second round of the tournament my sophomore year. Those two teams and leaders of those two years have been amazing and will never be forgotten. They made our team great!

Originally Published: July 1, 2009

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