The Grand Valley State University women’s hockey team will send three athletes and its head coach to Erzurum, Turkey on Jan. 27 to represent the U.S. in the upcoming World University Games.

Senior All-American and GVSU team captain Ashley Rumsey, along with sophomore forward Shelby Kucharski and freshman forward Chelsea Minnie were chosen for the team after applying and trying out in August. Junior goalie Michelle Wyniemko was selected as a primary alternate for the team.

GVSU head coach Cory Whitaker was also selected to be an assistant coach on the U.S. team, filling the final open spot on the coaching roster. Whitaker attributed his coaching opportunity to his players and his assistant coaches, Darrell Gregorio and Sean McKernan.

“I’m the product of their hard work,” Whitaker said. “There’s a million ways to coach hockey, but unless you can get the team of players to buy into your system, no matter how good of a coach you may be, you’re not going to be successful. They deserve the recognition much more than I do because they have a lot of time and energy invested in this program.”

Kucharski said she was surprised to learn that she had been selected for the team and that she is excited to get to compete with her teammates from GVSU. Kucharski credited her coach for helping her have the opportunity to compete at the international level.

“I definitely think (Whitaker has) been a big promoter not only of Grand Valley, but of women’s hockey,” Kurcharski said. “He’s gotten not only my name but my teammates’ names out there. He’s definitely advanced the program here at Grand Valley.”

This is the first time the U.S. has entered a women’s ice hockey team into the World University Games. Whitaker said that the U.S. was waiting until it felt that it could assemble a team that could not only compete at the international level, but also have an opportunity to win. The U.S. will face high-level competition from teams such as China and Canada, already well-versed in international play.

The U.S. team will have limited time to practice together before the games begin, but Rumsey said many of the players are already familiar because they have competed against each other before.

“I think an important part of playing well with a team is just getting to know the girls,” Rumsey said. “Even if we don’t have as much on ice practice time, we’re going to have a long flight, and we’re going to be spending a lot of time together, and I think that will really help us play together in the long run.”

Since women’s ice hockey is a club sport at GVSU, the players will need to find funding for the trip to Turkey. Each of the athletes from GVSU will have to contribute about $2,500 out-of-pocket and with the help of donations, which both Whitaker and his athletes believe show their level of dedication to the sport.

“There’s this ugly sort of tarnished word when some people talk about club hockey or club sports in general,” Whitaker said. “This is our opportunity to say, ‘Look, you can call us whatever you want, but what we are is competitive athletes that chose a different path, and that doesn’t mean we’re any less of a hockey player. That doesn’t mean we’re any less of a student athlete. What it means is that we believe in the program, the ACHA and Grand Valley.’ And that’s ultimately what all of these girls are saying by spending their own money to participate at this level.”

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