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USA Rugby Names Women's 15s Performance Squad

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USA Rugby Names Women's 15s Performance Squad

David Barpal photo.

CHULA VISTA, CA. - 38 athletes have been named to the new Women's Eagles (15s) 2019 Performance Squad, USA Rugby announced today.

The Performance Squad serves as the top tier of a new player pool structure, to be announced at the beginning of each year and remain equivalent in status across both the Women's and Men's Eagles (15s) sides. Both programs will include an Extended Squad within their player pool -- which sits junior to the top tier -- while the Women's National Team will also have a third tier called the Watchlist.

Players who sit in the Women’s Extended Squad and Watch list represent athletes who show potential to reach the main Performance tier over time. Each of the three groups within the player pool will receive attention and support from Women's High Performance with accountability and resources most heavily attributed to the top Performance tier.

Additionally, to give athletes more opportunities to compete internationally, Women's High Performance will integrate its sevens and fifteens programs by allowing Women's Sevens players a chance to be selected for fifteens competitions. Athletes in the Women's Sevens Residency Program will be considered an extension of the Women's Eagles Performance Squad, with the goal of helping players cross into the fifteens program earlier in the 2021 World Cup cycle.

As a core piece in the new Road to 2021 Campaign for the Women's National Team, the tiered structure provides athletes with much-needed transparency on where they stand within the larger setup of the program.

The Women's Eagles 2019 Performance Squad features 21 forwards and 17 backs with 10 players still seeking their first cap.

General Manager for Women's High Performance, Emilie Bydwell said: "Rob and staff have worked hard to create the necessary depth charts for the Women's 15s program at the senior and age-grade levels. These have allowed us to form critical tiers within our playing group and better understand what our current playing group looks like now, versus what it could look like in two and a half years at Rugby World Cup. Announcing and supporting a Performance Squad annually will increase transparency, clarity and inter-competition allow us to best maximize our support structures and resources. Having a clear vision on how each tier of our senior player pool, age-grade groups and sevens residents interact, operate and continue to develop is critical. Developing a fully functional ecosystem that encompasses all of these layers has been a real priority for us."

Women's Eagles Head Coach Rob Cain said: "This announcement shows exciting times for the Women's 15s Program with many more announcements to follow. This continues to show our determination in demonstrating how clear, transparent and supportive we are with our approach as a program. Through our tiered player pools and yearly calendar, we give everyone an equal opportunity with lots of platforms to pursue their dream of being an Eagle.

This inner competition and accountability will really allow the players to not only drive their playing ambitions but also keep everything contextual; allowing them to showcase themselves on a regular basis in the environment we create."

For more information about the Women's National Team's Road to 2021 Campaign, visitusarug.by/W15to2021.

Women’s Eagles 2019 Performance Squad

Player Name

Position

Club

Caps

Sui Aa'u

Center

Central Washington University

0

Tiana Aa'u

Prop

Central Washington University

1

Tiara Aa'u

Prop

Central Washington University

0

Katy Augustyn

Hooker

Berkeley All Blues

33

Bui Baravilala

Centre

Berkeley All Blues

6

Catie Benson

Prop

Life West Gladiatrix

17

Stacey Bridges

Second Row

Beantown Rugby

36

Katherine Broughton

Back Three

Atlanta Harlequins

3

Bitsy Cairns

Back Row

Life West Gladiatrix

8

Gabby Cantorna

Flyhalf

Glendale Merlins

3

Jeannine Duncan

Back Three

Seattle Saracens

2

Megan Foster

Fullback

San Diego Surfers

6

Misha Green

Back Row

New York Rugby

0

McKenzie Hawkins

Flyhalf

Lindenwood University

3

Emily Henrich

Center

Dartmouth College

2

Evan Hoese

Wing

Berkeley All Blues

2

Katana Howard

Flyhalf

Twin City Amazons

0

Nick James

Prop

Houston Athletic

6

Bailey Johnson

Second Row

Twin City Amazons

0

Katie Johnson

Back Row

Twin City Amazons

0

Rachel Johnson

Back Row

Oregon Sports Union

3

Joanna Kitlinski

Hooker

Glendale Merlins

8

Courtney Kuehl

Centre

Atlanta Harlequins

0

Bulou Mataitoga

Fullback

Berkeley All Blues

0

Azniv Nalbandian

Prop

Penn State University

3

Mary Jane Pasioles

Halfback   

Central Washington University

0

Christiane Pheil

Back Row

Atlanta Harlequins

8

Kat Ramage

Half Back

Dartmouth College

0

Megan Rom

Prop

Life University

2

Kimber Rozier

Center

Beantown Rugby

30

Kristine Sommer

Second Row

Harlequins / Seattle Saracens

7

Kelsi Stockert

Back Three

Unattached

8

McKenna Strong

Second Row

Lindenwood University

1

Finau Tamaivena

No 8

Seattle Saracens

1

Joyce Taufa

Hooker

Lindenwood University

3

Alycia Washington

Second Row

New York Rugby

17

Carly Waters

Halfback

New York Rugby

2

Kate Zackary (C)

Back Row

San Diego Surfers

9


 

Women’s Eagles 2019 Staff

General Manager of Women’s HP | Emilie Bydwell

Head Coach | Rob Cain

Assistant Coach | Richard Ashfield

Assistant Coach | Kate Daley

Assistant Coach | Jamie Burke

Assistant Coach & Athlete Mentor | Jenny Lui

Head of Physical Performance | Ian Jones

Head Performance Analyst | David Gardner

Head Athletic Trainer | Bri Sparks

Assistant Athletic Trainer | Katherine Henry

Team Doctor | Terrence Cronin

Women’s HP Operations Manager | Liz Strohecker

 

Women’s Eagles Tiered Player Pool

  1. Performance Squad + 7s Residency

  2. Extended Squad

  3. Watch List

 

Women’s Eagles Age-Grade Pathway

  • High School All-Americans

  • Junior All-Americans

  • Collegiate All-Americans