NORFOLK, Va. - Rising senior Adam Moundir of the Old Dominion men’s tennis team will represent his native country, Switzerland, in the 2017 Summer Universiade Games. Taipei, Taiwan will host the Universiade from August 19-30.
“I’m thrilled for Adam to participate in such a prestigious event and compete against the best university athletes in the world,” said ODU men’s tennis head coach Dominik Mueller. “It will be an honor for him to represent his home country Switzerland, but he is also representing ODU in Taipei for all of us. I believe that this represents our international and diverse values as a University perfectly and Adam will be the perfect ambassador for our great institution in Taipei.”
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.
ODU Sports was able to catch-up with Adam Moundir for a Q & A:
What does it mean to you to represent your country, as well as Old Dominion University?
“First of all, it is the first time that I was selected by the Swiss Tennis Federation to represent Switzerland in such a big event and so I am very exciting to wear the Swiss gear and represent my country. For ODU, I think that it is really nice that ODU has given me that opportunity as well and it will be an honor for me to be there as an ODU student and be able to represent my school and my country at the same time.”
How do you think your time at ODU has helped prepare you for this tournament?
“ODU has helped me so much in growing as a person and as a tennis player. I am very thankful for the opportunities ODU has given me and all the support from my fellow student-athletes, my coaches and the ODU athletic staff, because it really feels awesome and pushes me to do better every day. I don't think I would be competing at this level right now if it wasn't for the ODU Men's Tennis program and all the people that are working with us.”
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?
“I think that competing on an international stage at such a big event will give me more experience for the big matches. I think I wasn't ready for a big tournament when I went to the NCAA's this year. Going to the Universiade will help me prepare better for my senior year and it will be something that I will try to carry on for the team so that we can be more excited and less intimidated of the big matches and make some noise next season.”
For more information please see the attached PDF, which links to the 2017 Universiade Tennis Handbook or visit https://www.taipei2017.com.tw/home.