NORFOLK, Va. -- Old Dominion women's golfer Katerina Vlasinova will represent her home country of Czech Republic in the 2017 Summer Universiade in Taipei August 19-30.
The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name for the world university games, “Universiade”, is derived from the words “University” and “Olympiade”. The Universiade is the largest multi-sport event in the world apart from the Olympic Games.
Vlasinova, a rising senior from Trebic, Czech Republic, is a three-time All-Conference USA selection. This past season, she was named First Team All-C-USA after helping lead the Monarchs to their first conference championship and NCAA Tournament appearance in program history.
Read below for a Q&A with Vlasinova, as she talks about her preparation, goals and how ODU helped her reach this level of competition.
The golf competition is set to run from Aug. 24 to 27. For more information and a complete schedule of events, click here.
Vlasinova joins men's tennis player Adam Moundir as representatives for Old Dominion at the event.
Q: What does it mean to you to represent your country, as well as Old Dominion University?
"It is very exciting that I got the chance to represent my country at such a prestigious event. Competing side by side with athletes of so many different sports and nations is something I have never experienced before and I am really looking forward to it. It will be an honor to wear the Czech gear and I am thankful that ODU gave me the opportunity to be there for my country and the university at the same time. The best part is that we can represent ODU together with my friend Adam Moundir from the tennis team."
Q: How do you think your time at ODU has helped prepare you for this tournament?
"I have always greatly appreciated that I got an athletic scholarship at ODU because it allows me to play the sport I love while getting a good education. ODU has been providing me all the assets necessary for my athletic and personal growth and has been helping me to reach my goal to become a professional golf player in the future. I think that the ODU athletic staff, coaches, donors and all the people helping us can be proud of having two athletes at this event because it means they do things right and raise top world athletes."
Q: What do you hope to get out of competing in this tournament that you can bring back to Norfolk to utilize for your senior season?
"During my summer break at home, I have competed at many big events, to which they belong the German International Ladies Amateur Championship, the European Ladies Amateur Championship in Switzerland, and the European Ladies Amateur Team Championship in Portugal. In Portugal, I was leading the Czech Team not only in the stroke play but also in the match play when I beat Olivia Mehaffey on the 14th hole. She is currently the 9th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and is playing for Arizona State University. On Saturday, I became the Czech International Lady Amateur Champion for the second time in a row. I am sure that competing at these tournaments and the Summer Universiade in Taipei will give me experience that I can build on in my senior year and I hope we finally show everyone what this team is capable to achieve."