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 Nikki Collins (pictured) is one of four Catamount rising seniors going to Europe next week to represent the United States with USAAI. |
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July 22, 2009
Cullowhee, N.C. - Four members of Western Carolina's women's soccer team will have international flair to their summer vacations. Rising seniors Nikki Collins, Nikki Lombardo, Hilary Holder and Jenny Matteson each accepted invitations to represent the United States with USA Athletes International, Inc. (USAAI) on a 10-day European tour in late-July through early August.
The foursome will travel to Germany, Austria and Italy to both play soccer and enjoy the local customs and hospitality. The group will leave on Sunday, July 26 and return to the United States on Tuesday, Aug. 4.
The group will blog and share select photographs throughout their European trip through WCU's official athletics page, CatamountSports.com.
The trip, which includes guided tours in addition to four international soccer matches, is scheduled to begin in Munich, Germany for the first three days. The travel party is scheduled to visit Olympia Park, site of the 1972 Olympic Games. On the fourth day of the excursion, the group is slated to make the transfer to Vienna, Austria, with visits to Mauthausen, a World War II concentration camp and the Palace of Schonbrunn, an Austrian royal residence and gardens.
The tour continues with a trip to Venice, Italy by way of Klagenfurt, Austria and Lake Worthersee, also known as the "Austrian Rivera." Highlights of the end of the Austrian swing include riding an Alpine Roller Coaster, with a guided tour of Venice capping the European trip.
USA Athletes International, Inc., (USAAI) is a non-profit organization dedicated to giving amateur athletes and coaches the opportunity to participate in international Olympic-style sporting events throughout the world, while also allowing them to broaden their educational and cultural knowledge of the world through the experience. Begun in 1992 with an international travel baseball team, USAAI now sponsors 15 sports that play in 25 different countries.
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The Catamount contingent includes two defenders - Matteson and Holder; a forward in Collins and an attacking midfielder in Lombardo. With the exception of Holder, who transferred to WCU from Columbus State prior to last season, three of the players have been together the past three seasons for the Catamounts.
The four have combined for 10 goals and 15 assists over the past three years for WCU with Lombardo scoring a group-high five goals and Collins leading with six assists, just ahead of Matteson's five helpers.
The WCU women's soccer team is scheduled to report for fall camp on Friday, Aug. 7, with the first scrimmage set for Tuesday, Aug. 18 against Charlotte, which finished the 2008 season ranked 25th in the nation according to Soccer Buzz Magazine. The season opener is Friday, Aug. 21 in Cullowhee against Gardner-Webb.
