A slew of Ravens athletes have returned home after representing their school and their country at the 27th Summer Universiade in Kazan, Russia.
Seven athletes from Carleton competed for Canada in their respective sports at the international event held from July 6-17.
Carleton’s Natasha Smith was the only Raven to bring home hardware as a member of the Canadian bronze medal-winning rugby sevens team.
“I was beyond honoured to represent Canada at this event,” Smith said about her experience.
“Going to the Universiade was a learning opportunity for me, and I believe that it has enhanced my overall knowledge of sevens rugby.”
After losing their semifinal match to eventual Russian gold medalists, the Canadians recovered by dominating the United Kingdom in the bronze medal game by a score of 36-0.
“My team’s reaction to winning the bronze medal game versus Great Britain was ecstatic,” Smith, a winger for the Ravens, said. “With the score being 36-0, we saw the victory in the last couple minutes of the game, but it all became real when the buzzer went off.”
Smith said she was “more than happy” with how her team performed throughout the event.
“Our cohesion, specifically, was remarkable considering meeting just a week prior to competing,” she said.
“I found that we were resilient in overcoming the unexpected loss to Ukraine in day two which made it possible to still finish on the podium.”
Smith broke her collarbone five weeks prior to the tournament and was unsure if she would be able to compete at the Universiade. Fortunately for her, she recovered in time to compete at the event.
“With the Carleton athletic therapy staff, and the support from my coaches, teammates, and family, I was able take the necessary steps to recovery and regain faith that I would make it to Russia,” Smith said. “I was happy to be able to compete in a few of the games and contribute speed and positivity to the team.”
The Canadian men’s basketball team also had a strong showing at the Universiade, placing fourth out of 24 teams.
Carleton’s brother duo of Phil and Thomas Scrubb contributed to Canada’s success throughout the tournament.
Canada looked to earn a bronze medal against Serbia. The team they lost to two years ago in the gold medal match at the last Universiade. However, a 10-0 fourth quarter run by Serbia led to a 87-74 loss for Canada.
Carleton was also well represented on the Canadian men’s and women’s soccer teams.
Midfielder Joey Kewin played valuable minutes as a member of the men’s soccer team.
In their quarter-final match against the Russian host team, Canada was defeated 4-1 and eliminated from medal contention.
“Playing against Russia was definitely my personal highlight of the competition,” Kewin said about his Universiade experience.
“There were 15,000 fans that night so you could barely hear the whistle. That, plus the fact that the Russian side was full of premier league players, made it pretty difficult to play our game.”
The team defeated Malaysia in their final game to earn seventh place in the 15-country tournament.
“I was also pleased with my personal play,” Kewin said. “Playing the amount of minutes I did and being given the amount of on-field responsibility was something special to say the least.”
On the women’s side of the event, Ravens goalkeeper Rachel Bedek and midfielder Veronica Mazella both represented the Canadian women’s soccer team.
Canada moved to the consolation side after being unable to secure a top-two finish in their pool, leading to a tenth place finish out of 12 teams.
Mazella said that she was proud of how her team performed, despite what the final standings may suggest.
“For the amount of time we had to prepare for this, I was pretty impressed with how our team came together,” Mazella, who was unable to play in the final three games due to a foot injury, said. “We should have placed a lot better than tenth, but sometimes it’s just how the game plays out.”
Carleton’s Dusan Boskovic also represented Canada as a member of the men’s water polo team.
Despite four goals in the tournament from Boskovic, Canada finished with a 2-5 record and placed tenth overall out of 12 teams.
Canada ended the Universiade placing 24th out of 170 countries in the overall medal count with two golds, nine silvers, and ten bronze medals.
