TORINO, Italy. -- Adrian College was represented extremely well at the 2025 FISU World University Winter Games in Torino, Italy this month as eight members of the Adrian College Men's and Women's ACHA Division 1 hockey programs returned to Michigan this week after representing Team USA in the Ice Hockey Tournament of the College/University Athletics rendition of the Olympics.

Players Sebastian Smith, Dylan Gajewski, and David Dell suited up for the men's team, while Gianna Miranda, Makenzie Villiard, and Rieley Jessie-Gerelli skated for the women's team. Adrian College Men's ACHA Division 1 Head Coach, Gary Astalos, and Athletic Trainer, Emily Baldus '21, were members of the men's team's staff, with Astalos serving as Head Coach and Baldus serving as the Head Athletic Trainer.

With the tournament commencing on January 12 for both the men and women, Team USA embarked on an incredible and memorable journey in search of medals at the World University Winter Games. With both the men's and women's teams being fully rostered by the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA), this was a great opportunity for Adrian College's student-athletes and staff members to thrive on the international stage.

Over the course of the week, the women clashed with Czechia, Japan, Kazakhstan twice, and Great Britain for five total contests. The team suffered two losses (Czechia & Japan) to open the tournament, unfortunately eliminating them from the medal rounds, but defeated Kazakhstan, Great Britain, and Kazakhstan again to win out and finish 5th place with an overall record of 3-2.

Villiard notted 2 goals and 6 assists for 8 points with the women's team over 5 games played, while Jessie-Gerelli stood in goal for 4 of the 5 games for Team USA, earning 3 wins, 2 shutouts, a .974 save percentage, and a 0.62 goals-against-average. Miranda did not register a point over 4 games but played a critical part of the American defensive core. 

The men managed to make history on their historical run, winning all four of their pool-play games to begin the tournament, defeating Poland, Japan, Slovakia, and Ukraine to finish as the No. 1 seed for the first time in Team USA ice hockey history for a team rostered by the ACHA at the World University Winter Games. The Americans then advanced to the quarterfinals, where they faced off against the Republic of Korea and defeated them, 12-3. The Team USA quarterfinal win set up a highly-anticipated rival matchup against Canada, with the winner moving on to the gold medal game. Team USA put up a fight but fell short as the Canadians moved on, while the Americans would play for Bronze against the Ukrainians. After a hard fought battle for third place the next day, Team Ukraine got the best of Team USA this time around, capturing bronze and ending Team USA's hopes of a medal. The Bulldogs and Team USA finished in 4th place with an overall impressive record of 5-2.

Smith finished second on the men's team in points, registering 2 goals and 8 assists for 10 points in the 7 games played. Gajewski finished the tournament with 2 goals and 4 assists for 6 points in 7 games played, while Dell closed the tournament with a lone assist over 2 games played.

Adrian College is proud to congratulate these exceptional student-athletes and staff members for their hard work, dedication to their sport, and for representing Team USA and Adrian College on the international stage.