Former UL Lafayette student-athlete Anna V. Petrakova is headed to the 2012 London Olympics as a member of the Russian women’s basketball team.
She’s the first Cajuns women’s basketball player to compete in Olympic games. She was chosen by coach Boris Sokolovskiylast week to join the squad.
The Russian National Team’s first contest in group play is set for Saturday, July 28, against the Canadian National Team. Top teams will move on to the quarterfinals, which start Tuesday, Aug. 7.
Petrakova arrived at UL Lafayette in January 2002 and played her rookie campaign under the direction of former head coach Gay Nix. The Moscow native’s career flourished her final three seasons with guidance from the late head coach J. Kelley Hall.
Petrakova became the 10th player in Cajun history to score 1,000 points. She finished with a career accumulation of 1,252 points. That career total includes a freshman season that saw her play only 75 minutes over 15 contests.
In her senior season, 2004-05, Petrakova helped lead the Cajuns to a school-record tying 22 victories and their first Sun Belt West Division title. Her development under Hall led to a pair of All-Sun Belt honors and Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year following the 2003-04 season.
Petrakova is UL Lafayette’s all-time career leader in blocks and free throw percentage. She ranks third in rebounds and free throws made; she is fourth in points, field goals made and field percentage.
Petrakova is still the only player in school history to record a triple double. She earned 17 points, 13 rebounds and 10 blocks when the Cajuns played Prairie View A&M on Dec. 13, 2004.
Following graduation, Petrokova proved a driving force in Russian professional women’s basketball, most recently as a member of Dynamo Kursk, the EuroCup Women champions.