Three St. Joe's Alums headed to Olympics

-Courtesy of St. Joseph's University

PHILADELPHIA - Three Saint Joseph's alumni - Renee Hykel (rowing), Mike Teti (rowing) and Tim Mulqueen (soccer)- will represent the Hawks in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China from August 8-24.

Hykel, a 2001 graduate, is the lone competitor in the trio. A member of the U.S. Women's Rowing Team, she will compete in the lightweight double skulls. She won that event with partner Jennifer Goldsack at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials. A five-time national team member from Haverford, Pa., she is considered one of the nation's top female rowers. A member of the U.S. National Team, she competed at the World Championships in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2005, while winning a silver medal at the 2005 World Championships.

Hykel, who joined the SJU crew as a walk-on, rowed for the Hawks for four seasons and was team captain and MVP her senior season.

Teti, a 1978 SJU graduate and Hall of Famer, is the head coach of the U.S. Men's Rowing Team. He has served on the U.S. coaching staff at the World Championships and the Olympic Games since 1996 and became the head men's coach following the 2000 Olympics. At the 2004 Games in Athens, he directed the men's eight to a world record in its heat, and an eventual gold medal, marking the first time the U.S. captured the men's eight since 1964.

A native of Upper Darby, Pa., Teti was recently named the head men's rowing coach at the University of California, Berkeley and will assume those duties following the Olympics.

As a rower, he was a 12-time national team member and three-time Olympian, winning a bronze medal at the 1988 Olympics. He was inducted into the inaugural Saint Joseph's Athletic Hall of Fame class in 1999 and is also a member of the U.S. Rowing Hall of Fame.

Mulqueen, a 1987 Saint Joseph's graduate, is the goalkeeper coach for the U.S. Men's Soccer team in Beijing. After graduation from SJU, he played in the American Professional Soccer League and then served as an assistant coach at Rutgers University, which reached the NCAA Final Four three times during his stint there. He then spent a total of nine years with Major League Soccer, serving as an assistant coach and backup goalkeeper for the New York/New Jersey MetroStars and then as an assistant coach for the Kansas City Wizards. He joined U.S. Soccer in 2005 and was named to the National Team coaching staff in the Fall of 2007.

The native of Fords, N.J. starred for the Hawks in goal, earning MVP honors in 1986 and 1987. He still ranks among the Hawks' top 10 leaders in career goals against average and shutouts.