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Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Fever set to honor Peszek, Sloan
Central Indiana, IN
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By: Staff, VYPE
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Photo(s) By: Volker Minkus
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U.S. Silver medalists return home to grand ovation.
As part of “Welcome Back Night” to honor the Olympic accomplishments of Indiana Fever stars Tamika Catchings and Tully Bevilaqua, the Fever also will honor 16-year old gymnasts Samantha Peszek and Bridget Sloan who were members of USA Gymnastics’ silver medal team at the Olympic Games in Beijing, China.
The Fever hosts the Eastern Conference-leading Connecticut Sun, at Conseco Fieldhouse, at 7:00 p.m.
Peszek, of McCordsville, attends Cathedral High School and competed in the uneven bars in Beijing. Sloan, of Pittsboro and Tri-West High School, was 11th in the all-around during the Olympic team preliminaries. Peszek and Sloan will be honored at halftime and conduct an autograph session immediately following the game. The pair will also appear at Conseco Fieldhouse, Nov. 11, as part of The Tour of Gymnastics Superstars.
Catchings won her second gold medal with the U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team. The eighth-year pro and five-time WNBA All-Star helped the Americans to an 8-0 record while leading the United States in steals during her second straight Olympic tournament. Catchings shot a blistering 72.4 percent from the floor (21-of-29), while posting 6.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game.
Bevilaqua won a silver medal during her first Olympic appearance while playing for her native Australia. A reserve point guard for the Australians, she and her teammates were undefeated in the Olympic tournament until falling to Catchings and the U.S., in the championship game last Saturday. She appeared in all eight games, averaged 2.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists during the tournament.
In her first Olympics, Peszek rolled her ankle in the warm up gym moments before the march out at the Olympic Games and was limited to competing on bars. She was a member of the 2007 gold medal teams at both the Pan American Championships and the World Championships. She finished fourth all-around at both the 2008 Visa Championships and Olympic Trials. She also finished third all-around at the 2008 Tyson American Cup behind Olympic gold medalists Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin.
Another first-time Olympian, Sloan was an alternate to the 2007 World Championships gold medal team. She went on to compete in the Olympic Test Event in December 2007 where she finished third all-around and second on floor. Injured last April, she made her comeback at Olympic Trials, competing in three events, and came on strong in the all-around at the selection camp to earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team.
The Fever, 12-14 at the Olympic Break, resumes its schedule with a pair of home games: Thursday against Connecticut and Saturday, Aug. 30 against the Atlanta Dream (7:00 p.m.) Led by WNBA All-Stars Catchings, Katie Douglas and Tammy Sutton-Brown, the Fever bids for its first WNBA Finals appearance after reaching the Eastern Conference Finals in two of the past three seasons. Tickets are available at FeverBasketball.com.
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