Sunday, May 25, 2003

Former All-American Dalma Ivanyi returns to WNBA and stint with Phoenix Mercury

legendary FIU women’s basketball star will continue her playing career on the professional level this season as guard Dalma Ivanyi (’99) will compete with the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA.

Ivanyi was a late addition to the Mercury roster, signed as a free agent on May 21 after spending the last two years playing professionally in the native country Hungary. Ivanyi was one of only 10 collegiate players taken in the 1999 WNBA draft by the Utah Starzz in the fourth round, where she played two seasons. She was a two-time All-American at FIU, finishing her collegiate career with 1,499 points, 896 assists and a school record 376 steals.

Ivanyi is coached in Phoenix by former Notre Dame All-American John Shumate and is a teammate of former local star and Miami Central High School alumna, Tracy Reid, the 1998 WNBA Rookie of the Year.

Two other former Golden Panthers were given long looks by WNBA organizations this summer. The most surprising casualty was guard Andrea Nagy (’95), a seven-year veteran of the WNBA and defunct American Basketball League, while Gergana Slavtcheva (’02), a three-time All-Sun Belt Conference selection who helped FIU to three post-season appearances, actually played in the first three games of the regular season for Phoenix before being released on May 24.

Nagy, a three-time All-American at FIU, had played professionally since 1996 when she was drafted by the Seattle organization. A year later, with the Long Beach Stingrays, she finished third in the league with 273 assists and averaged 7.6 points per game.

When the ABL folded before the 1999 season, Nagy was drafted and played two seasons with the Washington Mystics, before being traded to the New York Liberty in 2001 and then to the Sacramento Monarchs where she played the 2002 season

Slavtcheva, FIU’s third all-time leading scorer (1,823) and rebounder (740), was a three-time All-Sun Belt Conference selection who helped FIU to three postseason appearances.

It was Slavtcheva’s second attempt at sticking with a WNBA team. She was taken in the second round (No. 30 overall) of the 2002 amateur draft by the Los Angeles Sparks, then packaged in a four-player deal to the Portland Fire, but she never made the regular-season roster. This year, however, Slavtcheva averaged 3.0 points, including a perfect 6 for 6 from the free throw line, in three games for the Mercury.