Svetlana Olegovna Abrosimova (russian: Светлана Олеговна Абросимова, born 9 July 1980) is a Russian

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player who has played in college, the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

, and in professional leagues. She most recently played for the

Seattle Storm The Seattle Storm are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The Storm competes in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was founded by Ginger Ackerl ...

in the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Nati ...

(WNBA). She is usually called by her nickname, "Svet" or "Sveta". Abrosimova was born in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

(today St. Petersburg,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

), to Oleg and Ludmilla Abrosimov. Her father Oleg works as a welder in a shipyard and her older sister, Tatiana, was a professional

ballroom dancer Ballroom dance is a set of partner dances, which are enjoyed both socially and competitively around the world, mostly because of its performance and entertainment aspects. Ballroom dancing is also widely enjoyed on stage, film, and television ...

. While attending school she was trained for the then

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

team. She was named the MVP of the 1996 European Basketball Championship (also known as ''

Eurobasket EuroBasket, also commonly referred to as the European Basketball Championship, is the main international basketball competition that is contested quadrennially, by the senior men's national teams that are governed by FIBA Europe, which is the ...

''), averaging 18 points, six rebounds and three assists per game. She was also a member of all-star teams that won the 1995 and 1996 European Championship. Abrosimova was a member of the Russian national basketball team that placed sixth at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

and won a

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, et ...

in the 1998 Basketball World Championship.

College

In her freshman season (1997-1998) at the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from H ...

, Abrosimova's team went 28–2 in the regular season, losing only to Tennessee and Rutgers. The team went on to win the Big East tournament, avenging the loss to Rutgers by beating Rutgers in the tournament championship. The team won their first three NCAA games, but Abrosimova was injured in the regional final against NC State, and the team lost, ending their season. After a standout collegiate career, which included an NCAA national collegiate title in 2000, Abrosimova was selected in the first round (seventh overall pick) by the

Minnesota Lynx The Minnesota Lynx are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team won the WNBA title in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017. Founded p ...

during the 2001 WNBA Draft despite a foot injury. She was a 3-time Kodak first team All-American while at UConn. Svetlana was a member of the inaugural class (2006) of inductees to the University of Connecticut women's basketball "Huskies of Honor" recognition program. She was unable to attend the ceremony in 2006 to honor her. However, UConn inducted the 2001–02 team into the Huskies of Honor on 29 December 2011. Abrosimova was a graduate assistant on that team so was invited to the ceremonies. She flew in from Russia to be part of the ceremony, and the school reprised her 2006 induction, covering up the plaque with her player number(25), then unveiling it as she was introduced.

International

While still a junior in college, Abrosimova played for her native Russian Olympic team at the

, where her team finished sixth. She won a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics.

Professional

Like many other WNBA players, Abrosimova has played in various professional teams and leagues during the offseason. Following the Olympics she was signed by the WNBA's Connecticut Sun for the remainder of the 2008 season. She played for Ekaterinburg in her native Russia during the 2008–09 WNBA off-season.Offseason 2008–09: Overseas Roster
Abrosimova helped the

win their second championship in 2010.

UConn statistics

References

External links