Tara Mounsey
A trailblazer in women's hockey, Tara Mounsey was a cornerstone of the U.S. Women's National Team that won the first-ever Olympic gold medal in women's ice hockey in 1998 and went on to help the U.S. earn silver at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games.
A standout at Brown University both in ice hockey and field hockey, Mounsey showed her ability to lift a program to new heights. During her freshman season in 1996-97, she led the women’s ice hockey team to a record of 28-2-1, including undefeated runs in Ivy League and ECAC Hockey conference play. She was honored as the Ivy League and ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Year.
Mounsey put her collegiate career on pause to join the U.S. Women's National Team for the 1997-98 season, a year that culminated with an undefeated run to winning gold at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan. A fearless, physical defender with exceptional offensive instincts, Mounsey recorded two goals and four assists in the Olympic tournament.
The Concord, New Hampshire, native returned to Brown for two more stellar seasons, earning All-America honors both campaigns and finishing as a finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award in 1999-2000.
Mounsey went on to represent the U.S. on the Olympic stage again in 2002, earning silver on home soil in Salt Lake City, Utah. She recorded seven assists in just five games, the most of any player in the tournament.
Mounsey was also part of silver medal-winning U.S. teams at both the 1997 and 1999 IIHF Women's World Championships.
She was inducted into the Brown Athletics Hall of Fame in 2011 and was also enshrined in the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame (2019) and U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame (2009) as a member of the 1998 Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team.