Alina Bushma was preparing for the most important match of her squash career at Drexel, when her mother sent her a photo from her trip to Ukraine. Inna Bushma wanted her daughter to see the camouflage nets that she had made while volunteering for Ukraine’s Territorial Defense Forces.
Alina Bushma laughed and said “Looks like grass.”
Bushma preferred the photos her parents had sent earlier in week — champagne to toast their daughter, who helped Drexel finish runner-up in the Collegiate Squash Championships.
She said that she was a Ukrainian girl who loves squash, and she didn’t know much about it.
Bushma, 21, scored the winning point that sent the Dragons to the CSA championship match. Harvard lost. Bushma took to the court Friday at Drexel’s squash center, where she won her first match in CSA individual championships. She also earned First Team All-America honours for her win.
Bushma left the court to find her teammates and coaches waiting. They were wearing Drexel T-shirts that had two equal-sized horizontal bands of yellow and blue for the Ukrainian flag. The gesture was made by a team of players from all over the world (England and Spain included), to support Bushma.
She said, “They know what my pain is,”
Bushma has been watching “news, news and news” for the past nine days after Russia invaded Ukraine. Many people in Ukraine have sought refuge and taken up arms. According to the U.N. refugee agency, more than 1.2 million people fled Ukraine to seek shelter. Bushma’s parents have remained in Kyiv to support their homeland and to care for the grandparents of squash star Bushma. Bushma is a sister to an older brother who lives in Germany. She tried to stay positive and joked that she didn’t want “to bug my parents” by sending texts and calling for the latest updates.
She said, “They are more positive than I am sometimes here, because they’re trying to not panic and keep it positive.”
Bushma has felt the weight of watching from afar Russian troops seize the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. Bushma’s family and friends are there as well as her school-age friends and acquaintances who now have to worry about their safety every day.
Bushma stated, “It’s almost like why should I be safe in America when they go to bomb shelters every minute and think about their lives all the time?”
Bushma, who is majoring in security and computing technology with a minor in psychology, keeps winning at squash. She advanced to the quarterfinals with a victory of 11-8, 11-8 and 10-12 over Princeton’s Andrea Toth. This season, she improved to 16-3, which is a strong record for the best Drexel team history. Drexel won 16 games this season, surpassing the 12 wins set in the 2019-20 season. Harvard lost the CSA Howe Cup 8-1 to the Dragons. The singles championships continue through Sunday at Arlen Specter USA Squash Centre.
Bushma started the sport at age 5 or 6, when her mom was a member of an after-school gym.
She said, “I was like what is a squash?”
She begged her parents for permission to play and said she would continue to take the sport seriously even though there are few good players in her country. Bushma recalled participating in tournaments with only 10 players. With no collegiate sports offered in Ukraine, Bushma knew that she would have to study in America. Bushma was recommended Drexel by a friend who is a squash player. Bushma finally made it to Philadelphia after a few emails to the coaching staff.
Her ink-stained reminders are of Ukraine.
Bushma was 16 when she got her first tattoo. She has 15 or 16 more, and the most recent was on December’s last home visit. Bushma has a tattoo on her back that says “it’s to view my opponent”, a chestnut on her left arm as a symbol for Kyiv and an eye on her neck.
She said, “I’m obsessed.”
Bushma will be worried about her family and friends in Kyiv until her next appointment. She hopes they can raise another glass for her accomplishments at the end.
She said, “I was happy to give them some happiness.”
