we’ll, i don’t know what happened in the NT, but i remember seeing video of the 2014 WCh, and gibby was in the stands, watching and supporting her teammates. she also was not picked for rio. i’ve always liked her, but of course i don’t know her. it’s too bad for her but the US has too many good MBs and she didn’t fit their needs.
i don’t have a long history of following the USA NT, a lot of what i know is in retrospect, watching videos on YT years after the fact. but obviously being in the NT is not a given, only a minority makes it; and there’s always heartbreak. again i don’t know any of the particulars, but there’s a long list of people that didn’t make it: kristin richards was a member for many years, didn’t make it to rio and left. easy may never return (even before her injury, i think she was on the way out). all the drama with hooker. bowne didn’t make it to london (lost the last spot to scott). metcalfe didn’t make it to beijing, etc.
this obviously happens with all NTs, specially those with big programs and deep benches. you could be the 13th best player in CHN and one of the top players in the world, but you may not make it to tokyo.