2017 Summer Universiade Team Canada overall recap & results: Day 2 (August 20)
U SPORTS – TAIPEI CITY, Chinese Taipei (Team Canada) – Canada won its first medal of the 29th Summer Universiade on Sunday – a gold medal thanks to the swimmers of the 4x100m freestyle relay.
The Canadian foursome, swimming in the first lane, were in the lead throughout most of the race, completing the relay with a time of 3:39.21, ahead of Russia (3:39.39) and the United States (3:40.09).
“It was really great! We weren’t expecting to win the gold medal,” said Katerine Savard after the race. “We just wanted to be in the pack. We made some changes, it wasn’t the same girls tonight as this morning so we didn’t know what to expect. Because of our view, we couldn’t see very well if we were first. Our eyes were glued to the screen and when we saw that we had won, what a great moment!” she added.
Kennedy Goss and Kelsey Wog, who took part in the morning’s preliminary heat, will also receive a gold medal for contributing to the Canadian feat.
Women’s soccer
A goal by Joëlle Gosselin in the 64th minute granted Canada an important 1-0 win over Ireland in its first pool match of the 2017 Summer Universiade women’s soccer Tournament. Canada, who dominated Ireland 9-5 in shots on goal, now lead the Pool B standings with three points, two more than Ireland and Mexico. Canada will face Mexico on Tuesday, August 22 at 4:00 a.m. (EST).
Men’s volleyball
The Canadian men’s volleyball team staged a spectacular comeback with a seven point rally in the fifth and deciding set to claim a 3-2 (23-25, 25-21, 25-21, 23-25, 16-14) victory over the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in their opening match of the tournament. Right side hitter Steve Wood led the Canadians with 22 points including 18 kills. Canada moves to 1-0 in pool play and will face Switzerland (0-1) on August 21 at 8:00 a.m. (EST).
Men’s basketball
The Canadian men’s basketball team passed their first test when they defeated Norway 85-54 in their opening game of pool play at the 29th Summer Universiade. Carleton Raven Kaza Kajami-Keane led all scorers with 22 points and a game-high eight assists. The men’s basketball team will continue the tournament on August 21 at 10 p.m. (EST) when it faces Finland, who won 94-48 in their opening game against Japan.
Men’s water polo
Canada is in the win column after defeating South Africa 8-4. Devon Thumwood scored four goals, which matches his career high (earned once before), to lead the Canadians to their 1-1 record. Sean Spooner and Reuel D’Souza each added two goals.
“This was an important game for us. We were able to win largely due to a strong performance on defence,” said head coach Brian Parillo. “South Africa is a well-coached, physically strong team but we were able to use our mobility to nullify that aspect of their game.”
“I was fortunate to be able to put away scoring opportunities that the team generated for me,” a tired Devon Thumwood said after playing all but the last minute and a half of the game.
The victory puts Canada (1-) in a tie for second in Pool C with Hungary (1-1), with their final pool play match scheduled for August 21 at 3:40 a.m. (EST) against Serbia.
Women’s water polo
After a solid win against New Zealand in its first game, the Canadian women’s water polo team did not enjoy the same success against Russia, who won 17-11 on Sunday. Elyse Lemay-Lavoie and Shae Fournier both scored a hat-trick, while Emma Wright and Hayley McKelvey potted two goals each. The women’s team now has a 1-1 record and will play Hungary (2-0) in the next match on August 22 at 1:00 am (EST).
Also in action
The Canadians were in second place in the men’s artistic gymnastics team final, trailing only the U.S., after three subdivisions, but slipped to third after the fourth subdivision. They ended the day finishing in eight place with an overall score of 241.050 after the fifth and final subdivision. Event scores for Canada were the following: floor – 39.950 (eighth), pommel horse – 37.425 (12th), 40.800 – rings (eighth), 41.900 – vault (ninth), 40.625 – parallel bars (eighth) and 40.350 – horizontal bar (seventh).
In Taekwondo, Canada’s AJ Assadian advanced to today’s poomsae semifinal after finishing third in his pool with a total score of 79.4. In the semifinal he finished 13th with a score 76.8.
At the University of Taipei’s Shih-hsin Hall, diver Elaena Nancy Dick advanced to the women’s 1M springboard semifinals after posting a score of 236.20. In the final round of 10 student-athletes, she had a score of 234.40, to miss the final by four points. Dolores Hernandez (MEX) won gold in the event.
Finally in fencing, Marilyne Plante won two of her seven fights.
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.
About U SPORTS
U SPORTS is the national brand for University Sports in Canada. Every year, over 12,000 student-athletes and 500 coaches from 56 universities vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. U SPORTS also provides higher performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit usports.ca or follow us on:
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