Babony Wraps Up Competition at Olympics
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VANCOUVER, B.C. - Former Yale standout Natalie Babony completed
her run with Team Slovakia at the Winter Olympics Monday night.
Babony had one assist in five games as Slovakia finished eighth.
Babony is the third player in the history of Yale women's hockey to
make an Olympic team roster.
The Slovaks went 0-3 in Pool A, losing to Canada, Sweden and
Switzerland. They did have a 2-1 lead on Switzerland in the third
period, but allowed four goals in the game's final 10 minutes to
lose 5-2. They were also tied with Sweden 2-2 until late in the
first period, but the Swiss finished with the final four goals of
the game for the win. Babony assisted on Slovakia's first goal in
that game.
After pool play concluded, the Slovaks lost to Russia and China in
the classification round to finish eighth.
Babony, a native of Whitby, Ont., is a dual citizen of Canada and
Slovakia. Her parents (Anton and Olinka) were born in Slovakia, but
she, along with her sister, Andrea, and brother, Mark, were born in
Toronto. Her parents moved to Canada in their early 20's, leaving
behind their families.
Babony played for Yale from 2002-2005, totaling 21 goals and 31
assists in 90 career games. She led the team with 12 goals and 29
points in 2002-03, and in 2004-05 she was part of a squad that set
the school record for wins (16) and made Yale's first ECAC
semifinal appearance.
Yale's other two Olympians were part of the 2006 games in Torino,
Italy: Helen Resor '09, who played for Team USA, and Denise Soesilo
'10, who played for Team Germany. The Bulldogs' other Olympic
connection is Ben Smith, the former head coach of the U.S. Women's
Olympic Team, who was an assistant coach for the Yale men's hockey
team.
