GRR: Awards
An All American at Minnesota, Christy Ringgenberg made her reputation as a player who hit harder than her relatively slight frame would make you predict.
Born in Virginia but trained in Australia, Mike Hercus returned to the United States with an eye toward making the USA team, and not only did he accomplish that fete, he obliterated records.
The championship USA women's teams of the 1990s were beautifully balanced, with hard-nosed forwards and brilliant backs.
The lock forward from the Back Bay club was a California, and USA, guy through and through.
Born in Southern California, which is where he played and coached, Ed Burlingham was an imposing lock and supreme leader, captaining the USA in nine of his 14 capped matches. This included the 1987 World Cup, where he led the USA to a victory over Japan.
From about 1990 through 1998 the USA women’s 15s team was one of the three best teams in the world, rising to the top of that heap and staying near it for close to a decade.
To reach such heights you need plenty of mountain climbers, and perhaps the strongest and most dogged of them all was Diane Schnapp.