Four former women’s soccer student-athletes, a former sailor, a softball head coach, a track and field volunteer assistant, and an athletic trainer will be present at the 2021 Olympics
TAMPA, Fla., July 19, 2021 – The University of South Florida Athletic Department will be well represented at the Tokyo Olympics, as eight former student-athletes, coaches or department staff members will be a part of teams competing at the games.
USF softball head coach Ken Eriksen and team athletic trainer Michele Latimer are part of the USA Softball contingent competing in the games, with Eriksen serving as head coach. Track and field volunteer assistant Shadae Lawrence will compete in the discus as part of Team Jamaica. Evelyne Viens (Canada), Demi Stokes (Great Britain), Olivia Chance (New Zealand) and Christiane Endler (Chile) are former members of head coach Denise Schilte-Brown’s USF women’s soccer program and will compete in the Games for their respective countries. Paige Railey, a Clearwater native and former sailor for head coach Allison Jolly’s USF sailing team, heads to Tokyo to compete as a member of Team USA in the one-person dinghy event at the Games. This will mark her third Olympics.
The Games of the XXXII Olympiad formally kick off on Fri., July 23, but South Florida’s interest in the Games begins before that, with softball competition starting on Tues., July 20.
A full schedule of events with USF participants is listed at the bottom.
Sailing
Paige Railey is sailing in her third Olympic Games in Tokyo. She previously participated in the 2012 London Games where she finished 8th and the 2016 Rio Games where she finished 10th.
In other international competition, she’s won five medals at World Championships. After taking home a gold in 2005, she’s also won a silver in 2016 and bronzes in 2010, 2011 and 2013. She’s also taken home two golds and a bronze at the Pan America Games.
Railey graduated from USF St. Pete in 2010.
Softball
USF softball and USA Softball head coach Ken Eriksen will look to lead Team USA to its fourth, and his second, Olympic gold medal at the 2021 Games. He was an assistant coach on the 2004 squad which took home the gold at the 2004 games in Athens.
During his time as head coach of the team, he has helped guide the program to two World Championship titles (2016, 2018) and two silver medals (2012, 2014), as well as two Pan American Games gold medals (2011, 2019) and one silver medal (2015).
USA currently is ranked No. 1 in the world by the World Baseball Softball Congress. It’s first game is played on July 20 at 11 p.m. ET.
Track and Field (Discus)
USF volunteer assistant Shadae Lawrence will compete at her second Olympic Games in 2021, following a 22nd place finish at the 2016 games in Rio.
She threw a personal-best 67.05 meters on May 22 at the USATF Throws Festival and will compete for Team Jamaica at the 2021 Games.
The Qualification Round for Discus will take place on July 30 at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Lawrence joined the Bulls’ coaching staff in fall 2020.
Women’s Soccer
Four former members of the women’s soccer team will compete at the 2021 Games. Olivia Chance (New Zealand), Christiane Endler (Chile), Demi Stokes (Great Britain) and Evelyne Viens (Canada) are all participating in the women’s soccer tournament for their respective countries.
Three of the teams will play together in Group E (Great Britain, Canada, Chile), while New Zealand plays in Group G with Sweden, USA and Australia.
USF’s interest in the women’s soccer tournament begins on July 21 at 3:30 a.m.
Playing for the Bulls from 2012-2015, Chance led the team in goals in her sophomore, junior and senior seasons and assists in her junior and senior seasons. In total, Chance played in 79 games for USF, tallying 31 goals and 21 assists for 83 points. She also took 215 shots and recorded 13 game-winning goals.
Endler played for USF for two years, in 2012 and 2013. In 38 appearances in net, she played over 3,500 minutes, notching a .825 save percentage and a 0.904 goals-against average. She currently holds the record for the lowest career GAA in team history.
At USF, Stokes played in 73 games from 2011-2014, scoring 17 goals and recording 14 assists for 48 points. She was also a two-time second team all-conference selection.
Viens had a historic USF career, breaking over 15 program or conference records. In total, she played in 77 career games for the Bulls, tallying 73 goals, 169 points and 360 shots. She also tallied new USF single-season marks in points (53) and goals (25). The program’s first All-American in 2017 also repeated with the honor twice more, earning a second third-team honor in 2018 and a second-team honor in 2019. In total, Viens logged over 5,800 game minutes on the pitch.
SCHEDULE:
Sport – Teams Competing – Game Time (Florida, ET)
SOFTBALL
Softball – Italy vs. USA (Ken Eriksen, Michele Latimer) – July 20 at 11 p.m.
Softball – USA (Ken Eriksen, Michele Latimer) vs. Canada – July 21 at 8 p.m.
Softball – USA (Ken Eriksen, Michele Latimer) vs. Mexico – July 24 at 1:30 a.m.
Softball – Australia vs. USA (Ken Eriksen, Michele Latimer) – July 24 at 9 p.m.
Softball – Japan vs. USA (Ken Eriksen, Michele Latimer) – July 25 at 9 p.m.
For softball, the round-robin tournament is capped with the gold and bronze medal matches on July 27.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Women’s Soccer – Chile (Christiane Endler) vs. Great Britain (Demi Stokes) – July 21 at 3:30 a.m.
Women’s Soccer – Japan vs. Canada (Evelyne Viens) – July 21 at 6:30 a.m.
Women’s Soccer – Australia vs. New Zealand (Olivia Chance) – July 21 at 7:30 a.m.
Women’s Soccer – Chile (Christiane Endler) vs. Canada (Evelyne Viens) – July 24 at 3:30 a.m.
Women’s Soccer – Japan vs. Great Britain (Demi Stokes) – July 24 at 6:30 a.m.
Women’s Soccer – New Zealand (Olivia Chance) vs. United States – July 25 at 7:30 a.m.
Women’s Soccer – New Zealand (Olivia Chance) vs. Sweden – July 27 at 4 a.m.
Women’s Soccer – Chile (Christiane Endler) vs. Japan – July 27 at 7 a.m.
Women’s Soccer – Canada (Evelyne Viens) vs. Great Britain (Demi Stokes) – July 27 at 7 a.m.
The knockout stage for women’s soccer play begins on July 30, with the bronze medal match being played on August 5 and gold medal match being played on August 6.
SAILING
Sailing – Laser Radial Heats (Paige Railey) – July 24 at 11:05 p.m.
TRACK & FIELD
Discus – Jamaica (Shadae Lawrence) Qualifying – July 30 at 8:30 p.m.
Discus – Final – August 2 at 7 a.m.
About USF Athletics
USF Athletics sponsors 19 varsity men’s and women’s teams that compete in 11 different sports, 18 at the NCAA Division I level in the American Athletic Conference. The Bulls’ athletic program began in 1965 and is in its 55th season in 2020-21. Nearly 450 student-athletes train and compete in the athletic district located on the east end of the campus in Tampa, Fla. The Bulls have claimed 23 American Athletic Conference team titles since joining the conference in 2013, including four in 2020-21, and own 127 conference titles overall. The Bulls posted a combined annual grade-point average over 3.0 for the fifth straight year in 2019-20 and have posted a program record 12 straight semesters with a combined GPA over 3.0. USF has had nearly 450 student-athletes earn their degree since 2016-17.
Follow USF Athletics on Twitter (@USFAthletics) and Facebook for all the latest information concerning the USF Athletic program.
– #GoBulls –
