Hoosiers start to wrap up World University Games

Senior forward Will Sheehey and sophomore guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell won’t be bringing back a medal from the World University Games in Kazan, Russia.

The two IU basketball teammates had Team USA off to a 3-0 start, but the team dropped back-to-back games, falling out of medal contention.

Team USA lost its medal hopes after a 94-85 loss to Canada Friday. Before that, the team lost to Australia.

Sunday, the team responded with a 91-51 win against Norway.

Team USA (4-2) next plays Germany Monday morning. If the team wins there, it will play Tuesday in the ninth-place game, its highest possible finish after falling out of medal contention.

Sheehey led Team USA with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field Sunday in the win against Norway. Ferrell added 8 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds.

“After a couple losses everyone wanted a win,” Sheehey said in a press release. “I think we just need to keep focusing on getting wins.”

Sunday was the first time Sheehey had scored in double digits since the team’s second game of the tournament. Ferrell has scored 10 or more points in three of the six contests.

Thus far, Ferrell and Sheehey combined to average more than 19 points, 6.5 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game.

Despite outscoring opponents by an average of 29.5 points per game, Team USA’s consecutive losses to Australia and Canada, both by nine points, cost it a chance at a medal.

Ferrell and Sheehey were not the only Hoosiers representing their respective countries at the World University Games in Kazan.

Hoosiers also competed in men’s tennis, high jump, swimming, diving and water polo.
Recent IU tennis graduate Isade Juneau represented Canada in the games. The Quebec native participated in four total matches, two singles and two mixed doubles, and went 2-2.

His singles win came against Thesly Mufunda of Zimbabwe, as Juneau took the match 6-0, 6-2. Two days later, Juneau saw defeat in singles play at the hands of USC Trojan and USA representative Ray Sarmiento. Sarmiento defeated Juneau 6-3, 6-1.

In Juneau’s two mixed-doubles matches, he was paired with Dominique Harmath, a rising senior for the Rice Owls.

In its first matchup, the Canadian duo bested Vatsy Rakotondramanga and Hariniony Andriamananarivo of Madagascar 6-4, 6-2.

In the next round, Jisung Nam and Min Hwa Yu of South Korea took the match in a third set tie-breaker 3-6, 6-3, 12-10.

In other Canadian action, recent IU graduate Emma Kimoto finished with the best jump from North America in the women’s high jump.

Despite besting her home continent, Kimoto’s 1.80-meter jump placed her 13th. Only the top 12 qualified for the final.

IU has had several representatives in the pool. Nine Hoosiers have represented three countries and three sports in Russia.

Senior Cody Miller has been the most successful Hoosier, making the final in the 100-meter breaststroke and posting the fourth-best time in IU history.

The Las Vegas native posted a time of 1:01.17, earning him seventh in the final. It was his first final in international competition.

He wasn’t done, as he finished seventh in the 200-meter backstroke with a time of 2:12.10.

Senior James Wells finished seventh in the semifinal heat of the 100-meter backstroke with a time of 55.32. Finishing one spot ahead of him was fellow senior Eric Ress who beat his Bloomington teammate by a quarter of a second. Ress, a native of France, finished with a time of 55.07.

Wells also placed seventh in the semifinal heat of the 50-meter backstroke.
Sophomore Brooklynn Snodgrass represented Canada and placed eighth in her semifinal heat of the 100-meter backstroke.

In diving, recent graduate Casey Johnson’s score of 286.70 was good for 12th place in the semifinals. Teammate Conor Murphy finished three spots behind Johnson with a 321.10 score.

The U.S. diving pair placed sixth in the synchronized platform final with a score of 334.08.

Representing Israel, senior Cassidy Kahn received 20th place in the 1-meter springboard prelims with a score of 201.95.

In water polo, three Hoosiers are representing Canada. Senior Shae Fournier, sophomore Jessica Gaudreault and junior Shelby Taylor are all playing in the games.
Canada advanced to the semifinals with a 9-8 victory against France Friday, but lost to Hungary 7-6 Sunday.

It will play Italy for the bronze medal on Tuesday.

Fournier has scored 13 goals in five games.

In international play outside of the World Unviersity Games, juniors Kyle Schwarber and Sam Travis recently arrived back from a baseball series in Japan, representing the U.S. on the Collegiate National Team.

The No. 2 and 3 hitters in the IU lineup played a five-game series against the Japanese national team.

Japan took three of the five games, outscoring Team USA 21-20. The Hoosier duo combined for five hits in the series. Schwarber started every game and had a .304 on base percentage, while Travis saw action in four of the five games.