BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Water Polo Canada announced their preliminary roster selections for the upcoming FISU 2015 Universiade (World University Games) in Gwangju, South Korea. Indiana freshmen Kelly Matthews and Sarah Myers were two of the final fourteen student-athletes selected to represent Canada in the bi-annual summer games. Matthews and Myers join former Hoosiers Shae Fournier, Jakie Köhli, and Jessica Gaudreault as active members of the Canadian National Team.
“We are very proud of and happy for Kelly and Sarah, as their selection is affirmation of the great work they did this season at IU,” said Indiana Water Polo head coach Barry King. “This is just the beginning for them on the international scene.”
This year marks Canada’s fourth consecutive appearance at Universiade in Women’s Water Polo. At the 2013 games in Kazan, Russia, the Canadians finished in fourth place after falling 6-5 to Italy in the Bronze Medal match. Canada also managed a sixth-place finish in 2011 and a fourth-place finish in 2009.
Kelly Matthews (2014- ) opened her Indiana career in resounding fashion during the Hoosiers’ 2015 campaign. Matthews led all Hoosiers in scoring with 73 goals, more than any freshman in IU history and the sixth-highest single-season total in school history. That goal total had much to do with her tendency to get into a scoring rhythm, as she scored three or more goals in 14 of Indiana’s 35 matches in 2015. Matthews also totaled 25 assists, 24 steals, and 11 field blocks in her debut season. Matthews’ accolades from her freshman year are many, including winning the CWPA Rookie of the Year, CWPA Tournament Rookie of the Year, an All-CWPA Second Team selection, an All-CWPA Tournament First Team selection, and three CWPA Rookie of the Week selections.
Sarah Myers (2014- ) had a breakout season for the Hoosiers as well. Myers played in 34 of 35 matches in her first year in the pool for IU, scoring 22 goals and serving 26 assists. Myers led all freshmen in steals with 39, and is one of the top returning defenders for Indiana heading into the 2015-16 season.
“It was difficult to finalize a roster as there are so many talented Water Polo athletes in Canada,” said Canadian head coach David 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.”
View the full release from Water Polo Canada here.
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Canadian Women’s National Team Roster
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Name |
Hometown
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School
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Kyra Christmas
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High River, AB
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University of the Pacific
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Nicola Colterjohn (G)
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Hamilton, ON
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McMaster University
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Axelle Crevier
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Montreal, QC
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Saint-Laurent College
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Roxane Crevier
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Montreal, QC
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Maisonneuve College
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Kelsey Jensen (G)
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Weyburn, SK
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University of Regina
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Elyse Lemay-Lavoie
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Montreal, QC
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Maisonneuve College |
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Roxboro, QC
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Indiana University
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Hayley McKelvey
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Vancouver, BC
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University of Southern California |
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Toronto, ON
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Indiana University
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Taylor Molde
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Weyburn, SK
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University of Hawaii
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Kindred Paul
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Spruce Grove, AB
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University of California, Berkeley
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Gurpreet Sohi
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Delta, BC
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Stanford University
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Alexa Tielmann
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Abbotsford, BC
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UCLA
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| Niki Van Vugt (G) | Toronto, ON | California State University |
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FINA World League Super Final – Group Stage
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No.
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Pool A |
Pool B
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1
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Russia (2013 Gold Medal) | Hungary (2013 Silver Medal) |
| 2 | Canada | Italy (2013 Bronze Medal) |
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3
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China
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Australia
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4
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Japan
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United States
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5
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Serbia
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France
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Group Stage Schedule: Canada
All times Eastern (Korea Standard Time -13 hours)
Game 1 | vs. Serbia | Wednesday, July 1 at 9:30 pm
Game 2 | vs. Russia | Friday, July 3 at 12:30 am
Game 3 | vs. China | Sunday, July 5 at 9:30 pm
Game 4 | vs. Japan | Tuesday, July 7 at 4:00 am
Quarterfinals | Thursday, July 9 (time TBA)
Semifinals | Saturday, July 11 (time TBA)
Bronze Medal | Monday, July 13 at 5:00 am
Gold Medal | Monday, July 13 at 6:30 am
Swimming news courtesy of Indiana University Women’s Water Polo.