Tuesday, February 24, 1998
By Pat Bigold
Star-BulletinKAHULUI -- Sandra Whyte found gold when she set up two goals and scored another in the women's Olympic hockey final against Canada in Nagano, Japan.
Yesterday, as she stood ankle-deep in the white sand at Kanaha Beach, minutes from Maui's Kahului airport, she found paradise.
''It's beautiful!" blurted the Saugus, Mass., resident, who ignited one of the wildest celebrations in Olympic history when her shot from the blue line found its way into an empty Canadian net in the waning seconds of the gold medal game.
''The blue water is what you see in the pictures. I was in Florida once and I was saying, 'Where's the blue water?' Now I've found it."
Whyte and teammates Sarah DeCosta of Warwick, R.I., and Jen Schmidgall of Edina, Minn., were still wearing the clothes they had on when they boarded a flight from frigid Narita Airport as they watched a dozen windsurfers skip across the azure horizon.
''I'm definitely not anxious to get back home now," said Whyte.
The Hawaiian breeze seemed to be just what the 10 gold-medal hockey players who stepped off a plane here yesterday morning needed most.
Despite the thrill of finding out Sunday that they were the new cover girls of the Wheaties box, they came here craving relief from their success.
As DeCosta put it, "I'm not bruised, I'm just tired emotionally."
They arrived in Hawaii looking like a bunch of exhausted college kids who'd been on a field trip and just wanted nothing more than a hot shower and a good meal. Their Olympic travel bags were jammed and seemed to weigh a ton.
''It's stuff people gave us," said Vicki Movsessian of Lexington, Mass., a key fixture on defense for the U.S. women.
The hockey gear had mercifully already been sent to the mainland.
"I've worked really hard for seven months and now I think it's time for a vacation," said Movsessian, trudging behind a baggage cart piled head-high at Honolulu International Airport. Her fiance Chris Lamoriello, son of New Jersey Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello, walked just ahead of her.
"No," he said, they won't be getting married in the islands. The players who arrived here yesterday plan to spend a week and a half island-hopping, sunbathing, swimming and finally achieving what Tricia Dunn of Derry, N.H., called "closure to this (gold medal) experience.
Associated Press"I want to spend some time with my teammates, away from the ice," said Dunn. But she said she can't wait to get back home to see her part German Shepherd, part Labrador dog, Maverick.
"I haven't seen him in so long and he goes nuts when he see me," she said. And, of course, "I want to see my family, my friends and my brothers."
Whyte said the first thing she wants to do is take a nap on the beach and feel the tradewinds on her body.
"Then hopefully some biking, hiking and snorkeling," she said.
Asked what she plans to do when she gets back to Saugus, Whyte said, "Well, I guess they're having a parade for me from what I hear, and I have a couple of dinner invitations, and then start looking for a job."
Whyte studied anthropology at Harvard but isn't sure what field she'll pursue.
Katie King, who lives in Salem, N.H., said she'll have to pay a visit to the youngsters at her childhood alma mater, Barron Elementary.
A.J. Mleczko said she's anxious to get on her dad's charter boat in Nantucket.
"I'll help him get it ready and go fishing for bluefish and striped bass," she said.
Dunn told her teammates to make sure they book a trip to Pearl Harbor -- a site she doesn't want to miss on Oahu. But Mleczko said she has no specific plans. "It will be kind of fun to just travel around with the team and see what good things await us," she said.
Lisa Brown-Miller, the only married member of the team, was asked how she felt about the performance and subsequent behavior of the U.S. men's hockey team.
The men reportedly trashed their quarters at Olympic Village after being eliminated from medal contention.
"No one is very pleased by it," said Brown-Miller. "But we have not really focused on that too much because we're proud of our accomplishment."
Brown-Miller said the image of her team is very important to her.
"We have a real positive image right now, and we earned it. Unlike the men and what they did, this team is a very good group of people and we care a lot about each other. Nobody is going to do anything to taint our image and I don't think you'll ever see that happen."
Andrew Kostanecki, secretary to the U.S. Olympic Committee, arrived in Hawaii with the players and he cited Title IX as a major factor in the success of the U.S. team.
"I think Title IX has done a tremendous service to the women's effort all through the women's program in the Olympics," said Kostanecki. "The soccer program, the softball program, hockey -- I think you can lay that on Title IX."
Kostanecki said he had "adopted" the women players yesterday morning, approaching each one and telling them they can call on him if they need any help during their stay in Hawaii.
