February 11, 2014 | Mike Enright, Athletic Communications - UConn Communications

A Former Husky at the Olympics

Jessica Lutz '10 CANR, who played on the UConn women's ice hockey team, is competing in the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Update: Lutz scored a goal for Switzerland in the women’s ice hockey semi-finals against Canada on Feb. 17. Canada won 3-1.

Jessica Lutz '10 (CANR) played on the UConn women's ice hockey team from 2007 to 2010. (Steve Slade '89 (SFA) for UConn)
Jessica Lutz ’10 (CANR) played on the UConn women’s ice hockey team from 2007 to 2010. (Steve Slade ’89 (SFA) for UConn)

Former UConn women’s ice hockey forward Jessica Lutz ’10 (CANR) is competing in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. But although she grew up in Rockville, Md. and was educated in the U.S., she is playing for Switzerland.

Lutz played for UConn from 2007 to 2010 and accumulated 17 points in 95 games, posting four goals and 13 assists. As a freshman, she was named a Hockey East All-Academic All-Star. During her time in Storrs, UConn went 62-29-16, including a program-best 22-8-5 record during her freshman year in 2007-08.

Lutz, who holds dual citizenship, is skating for Switzerland in the 2014 Winter Olympics. (Steve Slade '89 (SFA) for UConn)
Lutz, who holds dual citizenship, is skating for Switzerland in the 2014 Winter Olympics. (Steve Slade ’89 (SFA) for UConn)

Lutz’s father is a native of Switzerland, and she holds both a U.S. and an EU passport. Her dual citizenship afforded her the opportunity to compete for Switzerland, provided that she established residency there.

So knowing the Sochi Games were coming up, she completed her studies in allied health sciences in three years, graduated a year early, and moved to Switzerland for nearly three years.

There she played for the Swiss club DHC Lagenthal during the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons, and spent the 2012-13 season with EV Bomo Thun. She returned to the U.S. for the current season to play with the mixed-gender club Ronin in a Washington, D.C.-based league, while working at a coffee shop. She was named to the Swiss Olympic roster in January.

Lutz is featured in a Feb. 6 article in the Washington Post.

The women’s hockey tournament at the 2014 Winter Olympics runs from Feb. 8 to Feb. 20. Eight nations qualified for the tournament, split into two pools for the preliminary round. Switzerland is in Group A, alongside Canada, Finland, and the United States. After losses to Canada and the U.S., Switzerland plays Finland on Feb. 12.