Four University of Saskatchewan Huskies are hanging up their green and white colours for the summer to sport red and white for Canada.

Men’s soccer players Josh Northey and Jerson Barandica-Hamilton, women’s soccer player Daniela Fuenzalida and men’s basketball player Michael Lieffers were all selected to compete for Canada at the 2011 Summer Universiade in Shenzhen, China from August 12 to 23.

Northey and Barandica-Hamilton

Northey and Barandica-Hamilton played for Canada’s soccer squad at the 2009 games in Belgrade, Serbia in which Canada finished 12th out of 16 teams. It was no surprise that the pair were selected as two of the four returning players from the 2009 team. Their superb seasons last year with the Huskies led the Dogs to their best-ever finish — a Canada West silver medal.

Josh Northey

Northey, a midfielder from Saskatoon, was named a Canada West MVP and a Canadian Interuniversity Sport first team all-Canadian after starting 13 of the Huskies’ 14 conference games and putting up seven goals, five assists and 27 shots on goal. His 12 points were second in the Canada West conference.

Jerson Barandica

Barandica-Hamilton, a Mexican-born forward from Saskatoon, was named a Canada West second team all-star for his performance last season. His 10 goals were the most of any player in the conference.

Fuenzalida

Fuenzalida, a midfielder also from Saskatoon, is the first Huskie to play on the Canadian women’s soccer team in at least ten years. Like Northey and Barandica-Hamilton, she has experience playing on the international stage; she played in the 2008 FIFA under-20 World Cup for the Chilean national team.

Daniela Fuenzalida

Her six goals and five assists in 14 games last season were second in team scoring and her .79 points per game landed her in third amongst Canada West competitors. She was named a Canada West second team all-star.

Fuenzalida joins a Canada team with nine returning players from the 2009 games and which hopes to improve upon its seventh place finish out of 16 teams.

Lieffers

Lieffers’s consistent play with the Dogs over the last three seasons was enough for him to break a drought of Huskies men’s basketball not being represented at the Universiade — he is the first Huskie to represent Canadian men’s basketball in at least ten years.

Michael Lieffers

The 6-8 forward from Saskatoon has consistently averaged over 6.4 rebounds and six points per game throughout his career as a Huskie. Last season, his per-game average was 8.9 rebounds and 9.4 points as he finished first in Canada West for field goal percentage (.627) and sixth in rebounding.

In 2010, he led the Huskies to their first-ever CIS championship after putting up 28 points in a 91-81 win over the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds.

Lieffers joins a Canadian squad that has traditionally had success at the games. They have won eight medals — one gold, three silver and four bronze — since 1983.

Summer Universiade

The Summer Universiade, also referred to as the University Summer Games, is a multi-sport international competition held every two years in which all competitors must be full-time post-secondary students between the ages of 17 and 28.

Previous host countries include Italy, Bulgaria, Japan, the United States, Canada and South Korea to name a few. The 2013 Summer Universiade will be hosted by Kazan, Russia.

Russia, Japan and China topped the medal count at the 2009 games in Belgrade, Serbia with totals of 76, 73 and 58 medals respectively. Canada finished 13th with 15 medals.

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images: Huskie Athletics