FORMER Swan Hill Flyers basketballer Tessa Lavey has won a bronze medal for Australia at the 27th Summer Universiade in Russia.
Lavey played a secondary point guard role to help the emerging Opals women’s basketball team defeat Chinese Taipai 99-58 to secure the bronze medal.
Only rivalled by the Olympics, the World University Games are the second biggest multi-sports event in the world.
Lavey, a down-to-earth 20-year-old, said she was proud to represent her country.
“This has been an amazing opportunity in Russia and to win a bronze medal for Australia is really cool,” she said.
Lavey was one of 151 Australian athletes who were apart of the 10,442 registered competitors who contested across 27 sports over 13 days of competition.
“The Aussies are great. Everyone really gets behind everyone and it is great. This really is something you want to be apart of and I am going to remember this experience for the rest of my life.”
After spending two years in the Australian Institute of Sport system and studying education in Canberra, Lavey is returning to Victoria to play basketball for the Bendigo Spirit and study at La Trobe University.
“I am moving back to Bendigo in August to play with the Bendigo Spirit so I will be back in Victoria and closer to home,” she said.
The head coach of women’s basketball at the Australian Institute of Sport Philip Brown commended the dedication Lavey continues to show to her basketball.
“Her development has been really exciting and she is working hard to earn her opportunities.”
“She understands that she is going to have to keep working hard on her skills and learning the game and she is putting the hard yards in to grab the opportunities.”
“At a national senior program in June she really impressed everybody with her performances at that training camp.”
The Universiade is a competition which grooms athletes who hold Australia’s Olympic hopes, including the ex-Swan Hill resident.
“A lot of our players like Tessa are our future. Maybe not 2016 in Rio but certainly 2020. And we need to keep supporting and cultivating those talented players. So we are very excited about our system and what we are doing back home.”
Lavey finished with five points in the bronze medal victory from 23-minutes on the court.
