McMaster's Colterjohn named to Canadian water polo roster for Summer Universiade

OTTAWA (CIS) – Canadian Interuniversity Sport, in conjunction with Water Polo Canada, announced Friday the Canadian women's water polo roster for the 2015 Summer Universiade in Gwangju, South Korea (July 3-14).

Gwangju 2015 website: www.gwangju2015.com
Team Canada website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/universiade/summer/2015/index

The squad features four returning members from the 2013 Universiade team which narrowly missed out on the podium in Kazan, Russia, where Canada finished fourth for the second time in three appearances since women's water polo was added to the FISU Games program. The Canucks had also placed fourth in 2009 in Belgrade, Serbia, before settling for sixth in 2011 in Shenzhen, China.

In Gwangju, the 10-team tournament is set to get underway on July 2 and will culminate on July 13 with the gold-medal final. Canada will compete in Pool B in the preliminary round against Serbia, Japan, reigning titlist Russia and two-time champion China.

Returning from the 2013 team are Elyse Lemay-Lavoie of Montreal, Taylor Molde of Weyburn, Sask., Gurpreet Sohi of Delta, B.C., and Alexa Tielmann of Abbotsford. B.C.

Due to a number of injuries at the goalkeeper position, three goalies were named to the lineup, including Nicola Colterjohn of Hamilton, Kelsey Jensen of Weyburn and Niki Van Vugt of Toronto, but only two of them will make the trip to Gwangju. A final decision will be made by June 11.  

Rounding out the red and white roster are sisters Axelle and Roxane Crevier of Montreal, Kyra Christmas of High River, Alta., Kelly Matthews of Roxboro, Que., Hayley McKelvey of Vancouver, Sarah Meyers of Toronto and Kindred Paul of Spruce Grove, Alta.

Three alternates were also selected, including Auriel Bill of Estevan, Sask., Molly Demers of Montreal and Kelly McKee of Calgary, a member of the 2013 FISU squad.                     

David Paradelo of Montreal, head coach of CAMO's women's team, will lead the Canadians in South Korea after experiencing success on the international stage with the under-18 age group. Angela Johnson of Cranbrook, B.C., will serve as assistant coach, while team manager Catherine Lamothe of Gatineau, Que., returns to her second straight Universiade. 

"It was difficult to finalize a roster as there are so many talented Water Polo athletes in Canada, said Paradelo. "Now that this selection process is done, we have a short timeline to prepare for FISU Universiade. The most important thing will be to learn to play together as fast as we can and with the experience and skills that these young women have, I have no doubt that we will develop our team game in no time. We are looking forward to succeed at these University Games."              

TEAM CANADA ROSTER

Name                          School                                  Hometown
Kyra Christmas            Pacific University                    High River, Alta.
Nicola Colterjohn (G)   McMaster University                Hamilton, Ont.
Axelle Crevier             Saint-Laurent College              Montreal, Que.
Roxane Crevier            Maisonneuve College              Montreal, Que.
Kelsey Jensen (G)        University of Regina               Weyburn, Sask.
Elyse Lemay-Lavoie    Maisonneuve College                Montreal, Que.
Kelly Matthews            Indiana University                   Roxboro, Que.
Hayley McKelvey        U of Southern California           Vancouver, B.C.
Sarah Meyers               Indiana University                 Toronto, Ont.
Taylor Molde               University of Hawaii               Weyburn, Sask.
Kindred Paul                U of California, Berkeley        Spruce Grove, Alta.
Gurpreet Sohi              Stanford University                 Delta, B.C.
Alexa Tielmann           UCLA                                      Abbotsford, B.C.
Niki Van Vugt (G)       California State University       Toronto, Ont.

ALTERNATES

Auriel Bill                    University of Regina                Estevan, Sask.
Molly Demers              Rosemont College                    Montreal, Que.
Kelly McKee               U of California, Berkeley        Calgary, Alta.   

STAFF      

Position                       Name                           Hometown
Head Coach                 David Paradelo            Montreal, Que.
Assistant Coach           Angela Johnson           Cranbrook, B.C.
Team Leader / Physio Catherine Lamothe      Gatineau, Que.

2015 UNIVERSIADE DRAW & TEAM CANADA SCHEDULE (all times LOCAL):

Pool A: Russia, CANADA, China, Japan, Serbia
Pool B: Hungary, Italy, Australia, USA, France

July 2 (10:30): Canada vs. Serbia
July 3 (13:30): Canada vs. Russia
July 6 (10:30): Canada vs. China
July 7 (17:00): Canada vs. Japan
July 9 (TBD): Quarter-finals
July 11 (TBD): Semifinals
July 13 (18:00): Bronze
July 13 (19:30): Final

CANADA'S ALL-TIME UNIVERSIADE RESULTS IN WOMEN'S WATER POLO:

2013 (Kazan, Russia): 4th / 8 teams
2011 (Shenzhen, China): 6th / 9
2009 (Belgrade, Serbia): 4th / 8

About the Summer Universiade

The Summer Universiade is an international multi-sport event that takes place every two years and is second only to the Olympic Games in the number of participating athletes and countries. The Universiade is 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.

Source: CIS