ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Freshman Ava Morrant arrived at the University of Michigan just in time for the start of classes on Sept. 4, but it was a week later than the other freshmen on the University of Michigan water polo team, because Morrant was playing with the Canadian Youth National Team at the FINA Youth World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.
Canada placed 10th overall at the event after training for three weeks in Hungary leading up to the event. It capped off a busy summer for Morrant that also included a gold medal victory at the UANA Junior Pan American Championships two months earlier in Clearwater, Florida.
“Youth World Championships was probably my favorite water polo experience, because we got to spend three weeks in Budapest leading up to it,” said Morrant. “It was hard training twice a day, but we got to explore in our free time. We didn’t do as well as we wanted to, but it was a really fun experience.”
Morrant saw a familiar face in Serbia as U-M head coach Dr. Marcelo Leonardi showed up to watch her play and do some recruiting.
“It was cool to have him there watching, especially because the last time he saw me play was in the recruiting process,” said Morrant.
The Youth World Championships wrapped up on Sept. 3. Morrant flew back and arrived on campus at the University of Michigan just in time for the first day of classes.
“It was kind of a wild day,” said Morrant. “I actually lost my visa, so I ended up having to go back to the border (Windsor, Canada) with my dad on the first day of classes. I couldn’t attend classes until I had it. It was kind of a scramble, but I settled into the team really quickly after that, which was nice.”
Morrant’s classmates on the team had already gone through freshmen physicals, academic testing and a three-day weekend of welcome activities throughout athletics and the campus. Morrant had some catching up to do.
She began practicing two days after classes started. She has become more accustomed to the team over the first three weeks. One thing that was helpful was Morrant’s roommate in the dorms, teammate Rylee Brower. Being on the same schedule helped acclimate her quickly.
Morrant is interested in international studies and business and is considering the sales and marketing track in the Ross School of Business. The academics prowess, team culture and student life around football games are all things that attracted her to U-M late in the recruiting process.
“I didn’t really know a lot about Michigan until very last minute,” said Morrant. “Marcelo was watching another girl play at Junior Olympics right before my senior year and she was playing against me. I came on an official visit and was extremely impressed with everything. Academics and athletics were at such a high standard, something you don’t see at many other schools.”
Coming from Vancouver, British Columbia, Morrant liked the idea of having other international student-athletes on the team, but the team culture was her ultimate selling point.
“In and out of the pool we are always looking out for each other and you see that Michigan culture in whatever we are doing and wherever we are.”
Morrant is settling in at Michigan with her new team, but wants to continue representing her country. She plans on trying to work her way up through the Canadian national team system to see how high she can go.
Release courtesy University of Michigan Athletics Communications
