Tulane’s Lily Wissinger and Kennesaw State’s Akilah Guzman /// Photos: Jackie Finlan
The women’s DII colleges that competed in last weekend’s spring championship brought all the drama that one could hope for in a final-four weekend. We’re honoring those performances by naming an all-tournament team as well as two Canterbury College Players of the Week.
RELATED: Kennesaw State is the DII Spring Champion • DII Spring Final Four Recap • Women’s Rugby Results: April 21-23 •
Considering the depth of talent on display, we solicited the help of referees and scouts in choosing the all-tournament team. Selecting the Canterbury College Players of the Week, however, was more straight-forward:
Kennesaw State’s Akilah Guzman and Tulane University’s Lily Wissinger served as inspirational leaders on their respective sides and had the ability to light a comeback (which both teams were required to do throughout the weekend) with every touch of the ball.
Scrumhalf Guzman is an attacking scrumhalf who is a real threat around the breakdown, from the quick-tap and off the weak side of the scrum. She’s a sound tackler and very fast, and set the pace for our favorite back line of the tournament.
Wissinger was also very dangerous from No. 8 and peeling weakside off the scrum. She was always a threat with ball in hand and was so fast off the line on defense. She had at least two intercepts, one of which set up her second try in the spring final.
Guzman and Wissinger account for two positions that showcased a lot of talent across the field. Tulane #9 Gwen Leifer and Grand Canyon No. 8 Jasmine Fifer are just two examples of standouts who were left off of the 15-player team, but difficult selections were made in every position.
Arguably the most difficult choice occurred at inside center. Lady Owls’ Caitlane Fricia got the nod, as she scored a first-half hat trick against UC Irvine as well as the game-winner (an individual effort) against Tulane. But the Green Wave’s Maddie Brenner was so prevalent in her team’s games, and Grand Canyon’s Daeanera Tuaua was also very explosive.
Congrats to all of the players and high-end rugby they produced last weekend. Kennesaw State has one more leg to: the national final against fall champion Davenport University.
2017 DII COLLEGE SPRING CHAMPIONSHIP
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
PROPS
Cori Arnold – UC Irvine
Chelsea Jones – Kennesaw State
HOOKER
Rose Walker – Kennesaw State
LOCKS
Clare Sullivan – Tulane University
Emma Ripplinger – UC Irvine
FLANKERS
Emma Scharf Peterson – Tulane University
Kat Lanzante – Grand Canyon University
NO. 8
Lily Wissinger – Tulane University
SCRUMHALF
Akilah Guzman – Kennesaw State
FLYHALF
Amanda Lam – Kennesaw State
CENTERS
Caitlane Fricia – Kennesaw State
Monica Rodriquez – Kennesaw State
WINGS
Amber Perryman – Grand Canyon University
Natasha Opoku – Grand Canyon University
FULLBACK
Sarah Lawson – Grand Canyon University