July 20, 2000

SPOKANE, Wash. -

For the third Olympic Summer Games in a row, Gonzaga University will have a representative competing after Monica Tranel-Michini earned a berth in her second Olympic games with a third place finish at the 2000 FISA European Olympic Qualification Regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland. She will compete in the single sculls event against 21 competitors starting September 17 at the 2000 Sydney Games.

A 1988 graduate from Gonzaga with a degree in philosophy and political science, Tranel-Michini began rowing at Gonzaga in 1984 after a knee injury forced her to quit playing basketball. She then moved on to finish her law degree at Rutgers University in 1991 and currently works for the U.S. District Court in Missoula, Montana.

Tranel-Michini made a name for herself on the international rowing scene in 1993 when she captured a bronze medal in the quadruple sculls during her first World Championships. In 1994, she was a member of silver medal teams at the World Championships in eights and fours. She made the first of two Olympic teams in 1996 as the United States eight finished fourth at the Atlanta games, after finishing first during the 1995 World Championships.

She now joins former basketball standout John Stockton as two-time Olympic athletes from Gonzaga University. Stockton won gold medals at the 1992 Barcelona Games and 1996 Atlanta Games as a member of the USA Olympic Basketball Dream Team.