International
2017 FISU Summer Universiade: Coaching staffs announced for five U SPORTS-selected teams
U SPORTS announced Thursday the rosters for the men’s and women’s soccer, men’sand women's volleyball and men’s basketball teams set to represent Canada at the 2017 Summer Universiade in Taipei City, Chinese Taipei.
A total of 76 athletes will don the red and white this August on one of five teams being exclusively managed in-house by U SPORTS. All remaining Canadian teams heading to the 29th FISU Summer Games are being run by their respective National Sport Organizations (NSOs), including artistic and rhythmic gymnastics, athletics, badminton, women’s basketball, diving, fencing, golf, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, men’s and women’s water polo, weightlifting and wushu.
The 2017 Summer Universiade is set for Aug. 19-30 in Taipei City. The full rosters and players to watch for men’s soccer, women’s soccer, men’s basketball and men’s volleyball are available below. The women’s volleyball team managed by U SPORTS, as well as the rest of the Canadian delegation, including all teams managed by Canadian NSOs, will be announced later this summer.
* Denotes key players to watch
MEN’S SOCCER
U SPORTS schools represented: 11
Highest-represented school: UNB (4)
Team Roster
- Praveen Ahilan, Ryerson
- Evan Barker, UNB
- Lukas MacNaughton, Toronto
- *Justin Springer, Guelph
- Koosha Nazemi, Toronto
- Aaron Schneebeli, Western
- Jayden Doyle, Trent
- Kalen Park, UNB
- Sandro Rajkovic, Cape Breton
- James Louis Jeune, UQAM
- *Raheem Rose, Ryerson
- Marco Miketic, Ryerson
- Carl Deabreu, Trent
- Connor MacMillan, Fraser Valley
- Tristan Nkoghe, UNB
- *Marcus Lees, UNB
- Dena Iezady, York
- Simon-Pierre Kougnima, UQAM
- Marc-Olivier Kouo Dibongue, Laval
- Matt Catalano, Fanshawe College
Athletes to watch
Ryerson midfielder Raheem Rose and Guelph defender Justin Springer were both named U SPORTS All-Canadians this season, with Springer also earning tournament all-star honours as the Gryphons captured a national bronze medal on home field at the 2016 U SPORTS Men’s Soccer Championship. Rose ranked third on the Rams with eight goals in 11 contests, while UNB striker Marcus Lees led the Varsity Reds with three goals and five points in 12 regular season games. Springer will be making his second consecutive Universiade appearance.
Head Coach: Miles Pinsent, UNB
Assistant Coach: Barry Morrison, UNB
Team Leader: George Lucas, UNB
Physiotherapist: Gillian Gilmore
2015 Summer Universiade Team Canada result: 13th
WOMEN’S SOCCER
U SPORTS school represented: 10
Highest-represented school: Laval (6)
Team Roster
- Anna Schellenberg, Alberta
- *Arielle Roy-Petitclerc, Laval
- Audrey Lagarde, Sherbrooke
- Jessie Candlish-Brown, Alberta
- Joanie L’Abbé, Laval
- *Joëlle Gosselin, Laval
- Jordan Smith, Calgary
- *Julia Liguori, UQAM
- Katherine Koehler-Grassau, UOIT
- Kayla daCosta-Pacheco, Ottawa
- Kylie Bordeleau, UOIT
- Laura Callender, Queen’s
- Marie-Eve Jacques, Sherbrooke
- Marie-Joelle Vandal, Laval
- Marie-Yasmine Alidou D'Anjou, UQAM
- Maxine Murchie, Wilfrid Laurier
- *Melissa Roy, Laval
- Natasha Klasios, Toronto
- Roxanne Dionne, Laval
- Sarah Dilling, Calgary
Athletes to watch
The Canadian women’s soccer team features a deep roster, with 10 athletes returning from the 2015 FISU Games team that placed fourth in Gwangju, South Korea, the team’s highest-ever finish. Four players have also represented Canada at U17 and U20 national team camps, with two athletes having appeared in World Cup competition. The team also boasts reigning BLG Award winner and U SPORTS Women’s Soccer Player of the Year Arielle Roy-Petitclerc, as well as Championship MVP Joëlle Gosselin, both of the Laval Rouge et Or, along with U SPORTS Rookie of the Year Julia Liguori from the UQAM Citadins.
Head Coach: Peyvand Mossavat, UOIT
Assistant Coach: Jose Valdes, McGill
Assistant Coach: Raz El-Asmar (Carleton, 2012-15)
Physiotherapist: Charlotte Villeneuve, McGill
Sports Scientist/Conditioning: Farzad Yousefian, UOIT
2015 Universiade Team Canada Result: 4th
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
U SPORTS schools represented: 6
Highest-represented school: Nipissing (3)
Team Roster
- *Gabriel Chancy, Montreal
- Jeremy Davies, Brandon
- *Irvan Brar, UBC
- Lucas Coleman, Ryerson
- Pierce Johnson, Windsor
- Steve Wood, Nipissing
- Warren Taylor, Nipissing
- *Johnathan Moate, Windsor
- Mason Metcalf, Brandon
- Cameron Branch, Nipissing
- Godefroy Veyron-Trudel, Montreal
- Sebastian Lethbridge, Fanshawe College
Athletes to watch
Montreal setter Gabriel Chancy earned Second Team All-Canadian honours after registering 9.02 assists per set this season, good for 13th in the nation. Meanwhile, UBC outside hitter Irvan Brar was eighth in the country with 317 kills in 23 matches, with a kills/set rate of 3.27. Windsor middle blocker Johnathan Moat ranked fourth in U SPORTS men’s volleyball with a hitting percentage of .412, and seventh across the country with 22 solo blocks. Both Chancy and Brar are returning players from the 2017 Summer Universiade.
Gabriel Chancy, Montreal (Second Team All-Canadian, 2015 Summer Universiade)
Irvan Brar, UBC (317 kills, 3.27 kills/set, 2015 Summer Universiade)
Johnathan Moate, Windsor (22 solo blocks, 0.82 blocks per set)
Head Coach: James Gravelle, Windsor
Assistant Coach: Eric Yung, Nipissing
Assistant Coach: William Alexander, Windsor
2015 Universiade Team Canada Result: 19th
MEN’S BASKETBALL
U SPORTS schools represented: 9
Highest-represented school: Calgary, UBC and Carleton (2 each)
Team Roster
- David Kapinga, Calgary
- Mambi Diawara, Calgary
- Justus Alleyn, Manitoba
- Kevin Bercy, StFX
- Jordan Jensen-Whyte, UBC
- *Kaza Kajami-Keane, Carleton
- Alexandre Leclerc, Laval
- Javon Masters, UNB
- *Conor Morgan, UBC
- Erik Nissen, Acadia
- Jean-Emmanuel Pierre-Charles, Ottawa
- *Connor Wood, Carleton
Athletes to watch
Carleton guards Kaza Kajami-Keane and Connor Wood led the Ravens to their seventh straight national title and 13th banner in 15 years. Wood, the U SPORTS Player of the Year and a First Team All-Canadian averaged a career-high 19.2 points per game, while ranking second nationally in three-pointers (76) and third in three-point conversion rate (50.3 per cent). Teammate Kajami-Keane was also impressive, picking up Championship MVP and a Second Team All-Canadian nod with the second-most assists in Canada (99) to go along with 15.5 points per game. Out west, UBC guard and First Team All-Canadian Conor Morgan averaged the second-highest points per game (23.1), the third-most points scored (438) as well as 7.5 rebounds per contest.
Head Coach: Kevin Hanson, UBC
Assistant Coach: Daniel Vanhooren, Calgary
Assistant Coach: Team Leader: Jacques Paiement Jr., Laval
Medical: Kevin Valcke, UBC
2015 Universiade Team Canada Result: 7th
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
- Kacey Otto, Alberta
- Kelsey Veltman, Western
- Myriam Robitaille, McGill
- Vanessa Jarman, Alberta
- Danielle Brisebois, UBC
- Anna Feore, Toronto
- Meg Casault, Alberta
- Alina Dormann, Toronto
- Alissa Coulter, UBC
- Nikki Cornwall Trinity Western
- Courtney Baker, Dalhousie
- Aidan Lea, UBC Okanagan
2015 Summer Universiade Team Canada result: 6th
Head Coach: Daniel Huzar, UBC (Assistant Coach)
Assistant Coach: Michelle Wood, Acadia
Team Leader: Laurie Eisler, Alberta
About the 2017 Summer Universiade
The Summer Universiade is a biennial international multi-sport event open to competitors who are at least 17 and less than 28 years of age as of January 1 in the year of the Games. Participants must be full-time students at a post-secondary institution (university, college, CEGEP) or have graduated from a post-secondary institution in the year preceding the event.
The 2017 Summer Universiade will feature 14 compulsory sports and seven optional sports. Compulsory sports: athletics, basketball, fencing, football (soccer), artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, swimming, diving, water polo, tennis, volleyball, judo, table tennis and taekwondo. Optional sports: archery, badminton, baseball, golf, roller sports, weightlifting and wushu.
Official website: http://www.taipei2017.com.tw/