July 20, 2012

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The following former Atlantic 10 Conference student-athletes and current A-10 alumni will be representing their respective nations in the 2012 London Olympics (July 27 –August 12).

Participating Former A-10 Student-Athletes
(Name, School, Years, Olympic Sport, Country Represented)

• Alisha Tatham, Massachusetts, 2004-08, Women’s Basketball, Canada
• Tamara Tatham, Massachusetts, 2003-07, Women’s Basketball, Canada
• Kieron Achara, Duquesne, 2004-08, Men’s Basketball, Great Britain
• Stef Collins, St. Bonaventure, 2001-06, Women’s Basketball, Great Britain
• Pops Mensah-Bonsu, George Washington, 2002-06, Men’s Basketball, Great Britain
• Andrea St. Bernard, Duquesne, 1999-2002, Taekwondo, Grenada

Alisha Tatham, who has been a member of the Canadian National Team member for nine years, graduated from UMass in 2008 after appearing in 116 career games with the Minutewomen. Over her four year career at UMass, she totaled 524 points with 281 rebounds and 147 assists.

Tamara Tatham has been with Team Canada for seven years. The 6-1 forward finished her career with the Minutewomen 10th all-time in scoring (1,186 points) and ranks in the top-10 for career steals (4th, 190), rebounds (5th, 755), blocks (9th, 60) and free throws (8th, 282), as well. The 2007 graduate currently plays professionally with the Halle Lions in Halle, Germany

Kieron Achara, who has been part of the British national team since 2007, finished his career ranked 19th on Duquesne's all-time scoring list with 1,240 career points and second in career blocked shots with 185. The 2008 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Year earned a spot on the A-10 All-Defensive Team in 2007 and was named the league's Chris Daniels Award (Most Improved Player) winner in 2006. He was a member of the All-Academic Team for three consecutive seasons.  Achara began his professional career in Italy, before moving to Assignia Manresa in the Spanish ACB this past season.

Stef Collins, the 2001-02 Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, is one of just three remaining players from the first Great Britain women's basketball team that took the court in 2006. She has made 75 appearances with the national team which ranks first among any Great Britain player (male or female). She scored an international career-high 25 points against Ukraine in 2007. This will be the first time that Great Britain has been represented in women's basketball at the Olympics.

Pops Mensah-Bonsu, who was named to the 2006 Atlantic 10 All-Conference First Team, helped lead George Washington to the second round of the NCAA Tournament during his senior season as the team posted a record of 27-3 along with recording the program’s first Top 10 national ranking in 50 years.  A year removed from GW in 2007, Mensah-Bonsu captured NBA D-League All-Star Game MVP honors and earned a call-up to the Dallas Mavericks. He spent the next five years moving around the NBA, D-League and Europe, including stints with four more NBA franchises and clubs in Italy, Spain, Russia and France. Mensah-Bonsu is currently playing with Beºiktaº Milangaz in Turkey.

Andrea St. Bernard, a 2000 Atlantic 10 Volleyball All-Academic All-Conference selection, finished her Dukes career with 627 kills and 222 blocks. St. Bernard will be the first ever taekwondo athlete to represent Grenada at the Olympic Games. Born in Grenada, St. Bernard's parents immigrated to Toronto during the Grenadian revolution in the early 80's. She has dual citizenship with Grenada and Canada. A 3rd degree black belt accredited by the World Taekwondo Federation, St. Bernard qualified to represent Grenada in the women's under 67 kilograms sparring division. The event will be held on August 10th.

*Kendall Ross of Dayton is currently listed as an alternate on the Canadian Women’s Basketball Olympic team and will only travel to London if the need arises on the Canadian National Team.

Alums of Current A-10 Institutions
(Name, School, Years, Olympic Sport, Country Represented)

• Scott Overall, Butler, 2004-07, Marathon, Great Britain
• Ava Hutchinson, Butler, 2004-07, Marathon, Ireland
• Hayley Moorwood, VCU, 2005-06, Women’s Soccer, New Zealand
• Quanitra Hollingsworth, VCU, 2005-09, Women’s Basketball, Turkey
• Jason Parker, Xavier, 1992-96, Rifle, United States

Scott Overall was named his conference’s Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year in 2005 and again in 2006, and he was selected as the league’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Year in 2006 and 2007.  He also was chosen as the league’s Cross Country Athlete of the Year in 2006, after winning the league’s individual cross country title.

Ava Hutchinson, a native of Dublin, Ireland, will compete in the women’s marathon on Sunday, August 5, for the Irish Olympic Team.  She earned her spot in this summer’s Olympic Games with a qualifying time of 2:35.33 at the Houston Marathon in January.  It was only her second marathon.

Hayley Moorwood, a native of Auckland, New Zealand, will be competing in the Olympic Games for the second time after participating in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing as a member of the New Zealand Women’s Soccer team. During her time at VCU, Moorwood was a part of two of the greatest seasons in VCU history, helping the Rams to the program's lone NCAA Tournament victory, a 3-1 defeat of Clemson in 2005.

Quanitra Hollingsworth, the ninth overall selection in the 2009 WNBA Draft by the New York Liberty, finished her VCU career ranked third in school history in points and second in rebounds and double-doubles. Hollingsworth holds dual citizenship in the United States and Turkey, will be one of two Rams to participate in the Olympics in recent years.

Jason Parker, 1996 Xavier graduate, has earned his fourth spot on a U. S. Olympic team. Sergeant First Class Parker will represent his country in the men's 50-meter rifle three position in the upcoming 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London. He previously competed in the 2000, 2004, and 2008 Summer Olympic Games. In the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, he posted his best Olympic finish in men's 10-meter air rifle by placing fifth in the finals, falling .7 points short of the bronze medal. He finished eighth in the same event in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Greece. In the 2008 Beijing games he finished 23rd in the men's 10-meter air rifle and 22nd in the men's small-bore riffle 50-meter three position, the same event he will be competing in the London games.

To stay up to date with all the action at the 2012 London Olympics, be sure to visit www.london2012.com.