U SPORTS announces Universiade rosters for soccer, men's volleyball, and men's basketball

TORONTO (U SPORTS) – U SPORTS announced Thursday the rosters for the men's and women's soccer, men's volleyball and men's basketball teams set to represent Canada at the 2017 Summer Universiade in Taipei City, Chinese Taipei.

A total of 76 athletes will don the red and white this August on one of five teams being exclusively managed in-house by U SPORTS. All remaining Canadian teams heading to the 29^th FISU Summer Games are being run by their respective National Sport Organizations (NSOs), including artistic and rhythmic gymnastics, athletics, badminton, women's basketball, diving, fencing, golf, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, men's and women's water polo, weightlifting and wushu.

The 2017 Summer Universiade is set for Aug. 19-30 in Taipei City. The full rosters and players to watch for men's soccer, women's soccer, men's basketball and men's volleyball are available below. The women's volleyball team managed by U SPORTS, as well as the rest of the Canadian delegation, including all teams managed by Canadian NSOs, will be announced later this summer.

* Denotes key players to watch

MEN'S SOCCER

U SPORTS schools represented:  10
Highest-represented school: UNB (4)

Team Roster:
(AUS conference student-athletes in bold)

Praveen Ahilan, Ryerson
Evan Barker, UNB
Lukas MacNaughton,  Toronto
*Justin Springer, Guelph
Koosha Nazemi, Toronto
Aaron Schneebeli, Western
Jayden Doyle, Trent
Kalen Park, UNB
Sandro Rajkovic, Cape Breton
James Louis Jeune, UQAM
*Raheem Rose, Ryerson
Marco Maketic, Ryerson
Carl Deabreu, Trent
Connor MacMillan, Fraser Valley
Tristan Nkoghe, UNB
*Marcus Lees, UNB
Dena Iezady, York
Simon-Pierre Kougnima, UQAM
Marc-Olivier Kouo Dibongue,  Laval
Matt Catalano, Fanshawe College

Athletes to watch

Ryerson midfielder Raheem Rose and Guelph defender Justin Springer were both named U SPORTS All-Canadians this season, with Springer also earning tournament all-star honours as the Gryphons captured a national bronze medal on home field at the 2016 U SPORTS Men's Soccer Championship. Rose ranked third on the Rams with eight goals in 11 contests, while UNB striker Marcus Lees led the Varsity Reds with three goals and five points in 12 regular season games. Springer will be making his second consecutive Universiade appearance.

Head Coach: Miles Pinsent, UNB
Assistant Coach: Barry Morrison, UNB
Team Leader: George Lucas, UNB
Physiotherapist: Gillian Gilmore

2015 Summer Universiade Team Canada result: 13^th

WOMEN'S SOCCER

U SPORTS schools represented: 10
Highest-represented school: Laval (6) 

Team Roster:

Anna Schellenberg, Alberta
*Arielle Roy-Petitclerc, Laval
Audrey Lagarde, Sherbrooke
Jessie Candlish-Brown, Alberta
Joanie L'Abbé, Laval
*Joëlle Gosselin, Laval
Jordan Smith, Calgary
*Julia Liguori, UQAM
Katherine Koehler-Grassau, UOIT
Kayla daCosta-Pacheco, Ottawa
Kylie Bordeleau, UOIT
Laura Callender, Queen's
Marie-Eve Jacques, Sherbrooke
Marie-Joelle Vandal, Laval
Marie-Yasmine Alidou D'Anjou, UQAM
Maxine Murchie, Wilfrid Laurier
*Melissa Roy, Laval
Natasha Klasios, Toronto
Roxanne Dionne, Laval
Sarah Dilling, Calgary 

Athletes to watch

The Canadian women's soccer team features a deep roster, with 10 athletes returning from the 2015 FISU Games team that placed fourth in Gwangju, South Korea, the team's highest-ever finish.  Four players have also represented Canada at U17 and U20 national team camps, with two athletes having appeared in World Cup competition. The team also boasts reigning BLG Award winner and U SPORTS Women's Soccer Player of the Year Arielle Roy-Petitclerc, as well as Championship MVP Joëlle Gosselin, both of the Laval Rouge et Or, along with U SPORTS Rookie of the Year Julia Liguori from the UQAM Citadins.

Head Coach: Peyvand Mossavat, UOIT
Assistant Coach: Jose Valdes, McGill
Assistant Coach: Raz El-Asmar (Carleton, 2012-15)
Physiotherapist: Charlotte Villeneuve, McGill
Sports Scientist/Conditioning: Farzad Yousefian, UOIT 

2015 Universiade Team Canada Result: 4^th

MEN'S VOLLEYBALL

U SPORTS schools represented: 6
Highest-represented school: Nipissing (3)

Team Roster:
*Gabriel Chancy, Montreal
Jeremy Davies, Brandon
*Irvan Brar, UBC
Lucas Coleman, Ryerson
Pierce  Johnson, Windsor
Steve Wood, Nipissing
Warren Taylor, Nipissing
*Johnathan Moate, Windsor
Mason Metcalf, Brandon
Cameron Branch, Nipissing
Godefroy Veyron-Trudel, Montreal
Sebastian Lethbridge, Collège Fanshawe 

Athletes to watch

Montreal setter Gabriel Chancy earned Second Team All-Canadian honours after registering 9.02 assists per set this season, good for 13^th in the nation. Meanwhile, UBC outside hitter Irvan Brar was eighth in the country with 317 kills in 23 matches, with a kills/set rate of 3.27. Windsor middle blocker Johnathan Moat ranked fourth in U SPORTS men's volleyball with a hitting percentage of .412, and seventh across the country with 22 solo blocks. Both Chancy and Brar are returning players from the 2017 Summer Universiade.

Head Coach: James Gravelle, Windsor
Assistant Coach: Eric Yung, Nipissing
Assistant Coach: William Alexander, Windsor 

2015 Universiade Team Canada Result: 19^th

MEN'S BASKETBALL

U SPORTS schools represented: 9
Highest-represented school: Calgary, UBC and Carleton (2 each)

Team Roster:
(AUS conference student-athletes in bold)

David   Kapinga, Calgary
Mambi Diawara, Calgary
Justus Alleyn, Manitoba
Kevin Bercy, StFX
Jordan Jensen-Whyte, UBC
*Kaza Kajami-Keane, Carleton
Alexandre Leclerc, Laval
Javon Masters, UNB
*Conor Morgan, UBC
Erik Nissen, Acadia
Jean-Emmanuel Pierre-Charles, Ottawa
*Connor Wood, Carleton 

Athletes to watch

Carleton guards Kaza Kajami-Keane and Connor Wood led the Ravens to their seventh straight national title and 13^th banner in 15 years. Wood, the U SPORTS Player of the Year and a First Team All-Canadian averaged a career-high 19.2 points per game, while ranking second nationally in three-pointers (76) and third in three-point conversion rate (50.3 per cent). Teammate Kajami-Keane was also impressive, picking up Championship MVP and a Second Team All-Canadian nod with the second-most assists in Canada (99) to go along with 15.5 points per game. Out west, UBC guard and First Team All-Canadian Conor Morgan averaged the second-highest points per game (23.1), the third-most points scored (438) as well as 7.5 rebounds per contest.

Head Coach: Kevin Hanson, UBC
Assistant Coach: Daniel Vanhooren, Calgary
Assistant Coach: Team Leader: Jacques Paiement Jr., Laval
Medical: Kevin Valcke, UBC 

2015 Universiade Team Canada Result: 7^th

WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL

Roster and key players to be announced at a later date

2015 Summer Universiade Team Canada result: 6^th

Head Coach: Daniel Huzar, UBC (Assistant Coach)
Assistant Coach: Michelle Wood, Acadia
Team Leader: Laurier Eisler, Alberta

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. 

Official website: http://www.taipei2017.com.tw/  

Source: U SPORTS Communications