28.05.2008 – Graham Croker
Sydney University Flames will welcome Trish Dykstra (nee Fallon) back to the fold next week Monday, but not as a player.
Dykstra has accepted the role of Flames Operations Co-ordinator and will commence employment with Sydney University Sport and Fitness on Monday, June 2.
Deputy Director of Sydney University Sport and Fitness, Michelle Nancarrow, said the appointment is a real boost for the Flames.
“Trish has enormous playing experience as a professional basketball player,” she said. “We’re extremely delighted to bring a legend of the game back to the fold.
“We see it a very positive move not only for the ACUVUE Sydney University Flames, but also for Sydney University Sport and Fitness and for the broader basketball community.”
Dr Nancarrow said since retiring from the game, Dykstra has worked with Group Event Travel as a business manager in sponsorship activation.
“Her unique experiences as an international player, as a former player with the Flames program, and more recently as an administrator place her in an excellent position to advance the profile and operations of the program,” Dr Nancarrow said.
Dykstra played the bulk of over 200 Women’s National Basketball League games for the Flames during two stints with the club, from 1993-2000 and from the 2005-05 season to retirement at the end of the 2006-07 season.
She also played 212 games for the Opals and represented at three Olympic Games, winning bronze at Atlanta in 1996 and silver at Sydney in 2000 and missing out on the medals at Athens in 2004.
Her career also included stints as an international for the Minnesota Lynx and Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA, for Valencia in Spanish Cup and for Schio in the Italian League.
She was named International Player of the Year in 2003, captained the Opals in 2004 and was inducted into the WNBL Hall of Fame on her retirement from the game.
