Monash Student and Australian Opal's Success at World University Games
Monash student and basketballer Aimie Clydesdale has just
returned from representing Australia at the World University Games in Gwangju, Korea
last week. The World University Games is the second biggest multi-sporting
event in the world, behind the Olympic Games.
Aimie was one of the four Monash students competing at the World
University Games this year, and is currently studying a double degree of
Education and Science.
The Australian Women’s University Basketball team – ‘The
Emerging Opals’ – came 5th behind the USA, Canada, Russia and Japan.
Having lost only one game for the tournament, the Emerging Opals’ results
throughout the competition were very impressive. Beating Uganda 128-31, Brazil 85-40,
and Chinese Taipei 77-62, the Emerging Opals won every game in the Group stage
making them the top Qualifiers in Group D. However, the team then lost to Japan
in the Quarterfinals 71-83 dashing their chances of winning a medal. The team
regrouped though and managed to win their next two games against Hungary 75-58
and the Czech Republic 56-51 to secure 5th place. Aimie’s
performances throughout the tournament were especially notable, with her
consistency and scoring ability being lauded most.
Continuing on from her success at the World University
Games, Aimie has also been chosen in the Australian Opals team this month. The Opals
are playing a three-game series against Japan next week, before vying for automatic
qualification to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio against our Trans-Tasman rivals,
New Zealand.
“We are delighted to see Aimie progress to the national squad on the back of some amazing performances in the Dandenong Rangers WNBL team and for the Australian UniRoos. It takes a special person to be able to combine both study and sport at the highest level, and Aimie is one of those special people,” said TeamMONASH Director Martin Doulton.
Being chosen to represent Australia on the world stage is an
amazing achievement, and we wish Aimie all the best in her coming tournaments.
