Former BC hoop star Bouchard to play in Olympics

(6-26-2000) All-America basketball player Carolin "Cal" Bouchard '00 has become Boston College's first female varsity athlete to qualify for Olympic competition.

Bouchard, a native of Aurora, Ont., has been selected to the Canadian women's basketball team, which is currently preparing for the 2000 Olympic Games to be played in Sydney, Australia this September.

The Canadian squad recently finished third in a pre-Olympic tournament in Sydney and has returned to Toronto to prepare for the Olympic competition.The Canadian squad will face the national teams of Cuba and the United States in a series of exhibition games before travelling back to Sydney for this fall's Olympic Games.

Bouchard, who received her degree in accounting from the Carroll School of Management in May, is one of the top players in the 28-year history of women's basketball at Boston College. The 5-8 guard was a two-time first team All-Big East selection and she earned District All-America honors in her senior season after recovering from a serious knee injury in January of 1999.

Bouchard's academic accomplishments matched her on-court feats during her undergraduate career. She was selected winner of the Edward H. Finnegan, SJ, Memorial Award, Boston College's top Commencement honor, and was one of 16 women's basketball players across the country to receive a $5,000 NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship. Bouchard plans to apply for a Rhodes Scholarship during the upcoming academic year.

This past year, Bouchard was also named the Big East Conference's Women's Basketball Scholar-Athlete and was chosen as recipient of the female Eagle of the Year Award, Boston College's highest athletic honor.

She also became the first Boston College player to be selected in the Women's National Basketball Association draft when she was picked in the fourth round by the Detroit Shock.