USA Rugby Women’s National Team selected for November Tour 2018

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Women’s National Team selected for November Tour 2018
Kate Zackary earns Captaincy as 34 Women’s Eagles make a grande return to the international stage

34 players selected to represent Women’s National Team this November
Heavy representation of collegiate athletes with up to 21 new caps awarded
Eight players return from Women’s Rugby World Cup 2017
Kate Zackary to serve as Captain

CHULA VISTA, CA. – The Women’s National Team has officially named its 34 player roster to face No. 1 New Zealand, No. 2 England and No. 8 Ireland for the upcoming November Internationals 2018.

After last taking the pitch for their fourth-place finish at Women’s Rugby World Cup 2017, a new wave of players were selected from recent age-grade, senior high performance camp and Women’s Premier League performances; bringing a diverse group of athletes for the upcoming November schedule.

During the Fall tour, the Women’s Selects will also play an “A” level match to be announced later.

General Manager for Women’s High Performance Emilie Bydwell said: “We are thrilled for the long anticipated return of the Women’s 15s team to competition. Although the team has not assembled for matches in 14 months, there was significant work done in the background to ensure that we have the management staff, processes, players and competition structures in place to accelerate this program’s development over the next three years.

“Over the course of the summer we prioritized running six age-grade events and one senior team event in order to identify the next generation of players that will contribute to the program over the next three years. We understand that we will be playing the best two teams on flanking weekends with 21 new caps but firmly believe to achieve our goal of quarterfinal and semifinal victories at the 2021 World Cup, we need to expose our players to top early in the quad so we can set our program’s Key Performance Indicators and development plans accordingly.”

Of the 34 named players, nine return from the aforementioned Women’s Rugby World Cup, eleven have won a national club or college championship in the last 14 months and three are current Women’s Junior All-Americans. 21 players have the opportunity to earn their first cap over the course of the tour.

The diversity represented on the squad is a direct representation of the budding talent populating Women’s Rugby across the nation. Overall, at least 15 players have at one point represented the USA Rugby All-American programs at the High School, Junior, or Collegiate levels.

Among them, are 2018 Women’s Junior All-Americans Tiana A’au, Emily Henrich and McKenna Strong who all competed at the recent U20 Women’s Tri-Nations Cup. Henrich earned Man of the Match honors for her thrilling performance against Canada U20s and will be one of two 18-year olds hunting for her first cap, along with Eti Huangatau.

Club XV National Champions (Life West Gladiatrix) Catherine Benson and Nikki Kenyon earn selections, along with 2017 Women’s Premier League National Champions with the New York Rugby Club, Alicia Washington and Misha Green. The collegiate game is strongly represented, as well, with D1 Elite Champions (Lindenwood) Mckenna Strong, McKenzie Hawkins, AK Pedroza and Joyce Taufa representing one of many institutions.

Headlining the team as Captain is Kate Zackary, a Women’s Rugby World Cup 2017 and Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 athlete who owns six caps and has featured regularly on the World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series.

Zackary’s experience will be complemented by teammates both from the sevens and fifteens side with Kathryn Augustyn, Jordan Gray, Kelsi Stockert, Kimber Rozier and Kristine Sommer — to name a few. Club 7s National Champions Megan Foster and Meya Bizer also return to the Women’s Natonal Team. Foster recently appeared with the Women’s Falcons last month while Bizer comes back after last appearing at Women’s Rugby World Cup 2014.

Alongside a wealth of talent on the playing side, four Women’s Eagle Alumni come back into the fold in supporting positions. Jamie Burke — USA’s most capped Women’s Eagle — and Kate Daley, captain of the 2014 Women’s World Cup team, will both serve as Assistant Coaches. As Coaches for the Glendale Merlins and Penn State University (7s and 15s), respectively, Burke and Daley both own multiple national championships.

2017 World Cup Captain and New York Rugby Club member Tiffany Faaee will also serve as a Player Mentor and support the team in a management capacity. Eagle Alumn Jenny Lui will also take on a role as a Player Mentor and Halfback Technical Coach.

The coaching team also welcomes back longtime Women’s Eagles Assistant Coach Richard Ashfield and Ian Jones, who was the member of the 2014 World Cup Management Team. Jones will serve as the Head of Physical Performance.

Under the direction of new Head Coach Rob Cain, the Women’s Eagles will open their November schedule against No. 1 New Zealand as part of The Rugby Weekend‘s triple-header on Nov. 3 at Chicago’s Soldier Field. Tickets are available at therugbyweekend.com with the match streamed live on FloRugby.

Following the clash, the United States will travel to Europe for a test match with England on Nov. 9 at Allianz Park before they closing out their schedule against Ireland on Nov. 18 at Energia Park. Broadcast information will be confirmed closer to date.

U.S. WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER

Player	Position	Club	Notes
Tiana A’Au *	Prop	Central Washington University	• 2018 Women’s Junior All-American • Former Women’s High School All-American • Hawk Eye Development Program
Kathryn Augustyn	Hooker	Berkeley All Blues	• Women’s Rugby World Cup 2017
Catherine Benson	Prop	Life West Gladiatrix	• Women’s Rugby World Cup 2017 • 2018 Club 15s National Champion
Meya Bizer	Back Three	Women’s Sevens Residency	• Women’s Rugby World Cup 2014 • 2018 Club 7s National Champion • Former Women’s Junior All-American
Stacey Bridges	Lock	Beantown Rugby	• Women’s Rugby World Cup 2017 • Former Women’s Junior All-American
KB Broughton *	Back Three	Atlanta Harlequins	• 2018 Collegiate All-American
Gabby Cantorna *	Fly half	Glendale Merlins	• 2018 Collegiate All-American • Former Women’s Junior All-American
Jennine Duncan *	Back Three	Seattle Saracens	• 2017 Club 7s National Champion
Melissa Helga Finkelstein *	Prop	Glendale Merlins	–
Megan Foster	Back Three	San Diego Surfers	• 2018 Club 7s National Champion
Jordan Gray	Back row	Women’s Sevens Residency	• Women’s Rugby World Cup 2017 • 2018 Women’s Junior All-American
Misha Green *	Back row	New York Rugby	• 2017 Women’s Premier League Champion
Eti Haungatau *	Prop/Hooker	Women’s Sevens Residency	• 2018 High School All-American • Hawk Eye Development Program
Mckenzie Hawkins *	10/Center	Lindenwood University	• Former Women’s Junior All-American • Former Women’s High School All- American • 2018 D1 Elite National Champion
Emily Henrich *	Center	Dartmouth University	• Women’s Junior All-American • Women’s High School All-American • Hawk Eye Development Program
Evan Hoese *	Center	Berkeley All Blues	–
Nic James	Prop	Houston Rugby	• Women’s Rugby World Cup 2017
Rachel Johnson	Back Row	Oregon Sports Rugby
Nikki Kenyon*	Scrumhalf	Women’s Sevens Residency	• 2018 Club XV Champion with Life West Gladiatrix
Cortney Kuehl *	Center	Atlanta Harlequins	• 2018 Collegiate All American Camp Attendee
Sarah Levy *	Back Three	New York Rugby	• 2018 Collegiate All American Camp Attendee
Darian Lovelace *	Back row	Atlanta Harlequins	• 2018 Collegiate All American Camp Attendee • Women’s Premier League All-Star
Az Nalbandian *	Prop	Penn State University	• Former Women’s Junior All-American
Ak Pedroza	Scrum half	Lindenwood University	• 2018 D1 Elite National Champion
Megan Rom *	Prop	Life University	• 2018 Collegiate All-American Camp Attendee
Kimber Rozier	Center	Beantown Rugby	• Women’s Rugby World Cup 2017
Frankie Sands *	Back Three	Northumbria / Darlington Rugby (ENG)	• 2018 Collegiate All-American Camp Attendee
Kristine Sommer	Lock	Harlequins (ENG) / Seattle Saracens	• Women’s Rugby World Cup 2017
Kelsi Stockert	Back Three	Women’s Sevens Residency
Mckenna Strong *	Lock	Lindenwood University	• Women’s Junior All-American • Former Women’s High School All-American • 2018 D1 Elite National Champion
Joyce Taufa *	Hooker	Lindenwood University	• D1 Elite National Champion
Alycia Washington	Lock	New York Rugby	• Women’s Rugby World Cup 2017 • 2017 Women’s Premier League Champion
Carly Waters *	Scrum half	New York Rugby	• 2018 Collegiate All-American Camp Attendee
Kate Zachery (C)	Back Row	San Diego Surfers	• Women’s Rugby World Cup 2017 • Women’s 7s Rugby World Cup 2018

*Indicates athlete has not been capped yet.
**Players listed as back row will rotate between all three positions (flanker, No 8). Players listed as back three will rotate between both wing and fullback. Notes are not a comprehensive list of achievements for each player, but recent highlights referenced above.

NON-TRAVELING RESERVES: Bui Baravilala, Sarah Buonopane, Tess Feury, Joanna Kitlinski, Neariah Persinger, Finau Tamaivena, Elizabeth Trujillo, Brittany Simunac, Nicole Strasko
UNAVAILABLE DUE TO INJURY: Julia Buescher, Bitsy Cairns, Gio Cruz, Christiane Pheil, Hope Rogers

U.S. WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM NOVEMBER SCHEDULE
The Rugby Weekend
vs New Zealand
Sat, Nov. 3 | 12 PM CT
Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois
Purchase Tickets