Ally Day is now on the 15s pitch. / Photo: Wyland Luke
Reigning DI club national champion Life West continues to grow – both in numbers and relative to the local competition. Starting this spring, the Gladiatrix will field two teams in two divisions during the same season. The goal is to accommodate a larger range of players and aspirations.
“As our program grows we are looking to cater for both elite-level and club-level players,” explained Life West Director of Rugby Adriaan Ferris. “With the hybrid DI/II league that the NCRFU has established, we have entered both an elite team that will compete for the DI championship, and our DII side will compete locally with the key focus being on providing opportunities for our new and developing players to gain experience through increased game and training time.”
The Northern California league is hybrid in that crossover games will occur between DI Life West, five DII teams (including Life West DII) and two developmental squads. DI Life West will augment its schedule with USA Rugby-approved games to qualify for national playoffs.
“From a league perspective, we found the disparity between our elite side and some of the local clubs unsustainable,” Ferris continued. “Our team trains exceptionally hard year-round, and we have a number of players who aim to make the U.S. [Women’s National Team] or U.S. Women’s 7s team. The commitment levels for that require dedication and sacrifice. I guess that is the nature of our program as we want to be a pathway for future Eagles.”
Life West has been home to several Eagles in its short existence, including current players Catie Benson, Jenn Sever, Elizabeth Cairns and Nicole Strasko, who relocated from San Diego this school year. Jordan Gray is in San Diego and heading to Sydney 7s next week, and Megan Foster earned her second USA 7s cap in December at Dubai.
The Gladiatrix have also retained several players who featured in both the 2016 DII and 2017 DI national championship games, including Benson, Sever, Aubrey Huey, Rose Russell, Nikki Kenyon, Hali Deters, Cam Motley, Angelina Lomu and more.
Life West’s DII side is scheduled to face Colusa County this weekend. Last Saturday, Sacramento defeated DII Berkeley (read more). For more information on the DII schedule and standings, click here.