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By Daniel Prinn
Catherine Traer and Kellie Ring have been together for every step of their basketball careers – in sickness and in health, from cherished championships to nationals trips, till degrees do them part.
The Orleans natives have been friends since childhood, mirroring one another’s steps into stars with the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees, but now their paths look to be separating.
After five years at uOttawa (but just four years in the lineup), Ring will be graduating with a communications degree and headed on to do a masters in digital media at Ryerson University, where she’ll use her final year of eligibility with the Rams.
“I think it’ll be a great new challenge and change,” Ring says of joining the team that beat uOttawa in the Ontario final and went on to win the national silver medal. “I’m going to miss everybody tremendously because it’s been an incredible five years. It’s been an extremely hard decision but for me academically, this is the right move.”
Traer isn’t looking forward to the prospect of playing against Ring. She’s had the past junior national team member on her side dating back to their days with the Gloucester Wolverines and the Louis-Riel Rebelles, with whom they won back-to-back OFSAA provincial high school crowns in 2009 and 2010.
“We have so much fun together,” notes Traer, adding that Ring would be a “scary” opponent. “She is the toughest competitor I know. Every time she does anything, whether it’s basketball or anything else in life, she wants to win. She’s an awesome teammate and her desire to win is just contagious.”
Ring says she was equally inspired by the group of wounded warriors that trucked through this season for the Gee-Gees and earned a berth in the Mar. 17-20 Canadian Interuniversity Sport Final-8 Tournament.
Julia Soriano was the only core starter to play all 19 games this year as injuries rotated through the squad, including Traer’s ankle ailment that caused her to miss five games mid-season.
“I swear, some people were playing on one leg at nationals,” signals Ring, who missed time early recovering from a concussion and lost a full season due to knee surgery earlier in her career, which included three nationals appearances with a bronze medal from 2012.
“When you see your teammates playing on one leg, you have to fight,” adds the 22-year-old. “There’s no other team you’d want to be on when you see your teammates do that.”
Despite the injuries, uOttawa posted the best regular season record in Ontario at 17-2 en route to a provincial silver medal and trip to New Brunswick for nationals.
The Gee-Gees were within six points of the eventual Canadian champs from Saskatchewan in the final minute of their quarter-final contest, earning praise from opponents as “the toughest team they’ve played all year,” Traer recounts.
Traer isn’t totally certain she’ll return to the Gee-Gees either, having completed her political science degree. She’s applied for a political science masters program and for international development at uOttawa as well as other schools in Canada and abroad.
“I don’t think I’m ready to give up basketball especially after the season we had this year,” underlines the 21-year-old forward. “I think a national championship would be in the future for this program, so it would be nice to stay.”