Sports

As arguably the most influential female hockey player in the world, Hayley Wickenheiser has experienced the kind of on-ice competition that most athletes only dream of. This season, however, the 32-year-old legend is going back to school, and could impact Carleton’s Ravens women’s hockey team along the way.

Carleton Ravens alumni continue to travel the globe to play sports at a professional level, with three more making the jump from varsity this past summer.

Headlining the list of recent Ravens graduates is former basketball star Kevin McCleery, who currently plays professionally with the Matrixx Magixx Nijmegen of the Dutch Basketball League.

McCleery said his transition to pro ball has been almost seamless, thanks in a large part to Ravens head coach Dave Smart.

When Justin Caruana and Bryan Bickell got in their boat this past summer, they brought a case of beer and a fishing rod, two staple ingredients of any successful fishing trip. But unlike the many times they’ve hit the waters of Orono, Ont. before, this time they also made space for an extra passenger.

“He got the cup at 6:00 a.m.” said Caruana, a forward on the Carleton Ravens men’s hockey team. “And then we decided to go fishing.”

After missing last season due to back problems, Carleton Ravens men’s soccer captain Nick Persichino is back in the game.

The fifth-year business major has helped the Ravens get off to a quick 2-0 start in their 2010-2011 campaign.

When the Ravens opened the season with a 2-0 victory against the Queen’s Golden Gaels Sept. 4, Persichino was in the lineup for the first time since his injury.

Despite the rain’s constant drizzle, about 40 students turned out Sept. 12, broomsticks in hand, for Carleton’s Quidditch team’s first practice of the year.

Founder and coach Andrea Hill said over 200 people signed up for the team. Although the number of students who showed up at practice is far from the 200 on the sign-up list, it is still an improvement from last year’s 14-player squad.