A little West Coast rugby comes in the form of Canett. /// Photo courtesy Fallbrook Girls Rugby •
Collaboration is key to this weekend’s Northeast Regional Cup Tournament (RCT), which is larger this year due to the consolidation of all-star events. The six-team varsity division looks strong, but some creativity was needed to fill out the junior varsity bracket.
Coached by Tom Feury, the New Jersey all-stars is one team that formed along historical lines. New Jersey and New York’s Metropolitan league – namely Play Rugby Academy and New York Rugby Club – have long supported and played each other to bolster otherwise diluted league seasons. The two closely located leagues have maintained this relationship to form one all-star team.
Play Rugby has sent two of its best players in the speedy Malery Billingy and Army West Point-bound Gio Ferguson-Lewis, a punishing flanker. Both are Atlantis alumna and Ferguson-Lewis is a Girls High School All-American (GHSAA) 7s player.
Morris / NJ Blaze features prominently with 12 varsity spots. Chief among them are Harvard commit Delia Hellander, who is a threat from anywhere on the pitch; the positive-tackling Jordan Cowan and Mia Lancelotti, both juniors who lead in work rate; junior Jess Nagie, a scrumhalf with a quick delivery and propensity for inserting in the line; and senior No. 8 Brianna Whitfield, heading to AIC this fall, who is power, speed and points.
But the most interesting inclusion is 7s and 15s GHSAA Kayla Canett, one of the best flyhalves in the country. Canett played four standout years with California’s Fallbrook High School and won three national championships with the Warriors. She’s spending the summer in New Jersey before attending DI Elite champion Penn State in the fall. She will make a nice combo with players like Hellander and Billingy.
New York’s two other leagues did not combine for a single state all-star team. Coached by Nick McCardle and Karen “K.O.” Onufry, Capital mimicked its regular-season alliance between Upstate New York and Vermont for its select side.
Maryland originally committed to the tournament but ran into some numbers issues. Individuals are traveling north and will be absorbed by Capital, Massachusetts and Connecticut. The latter two are otherwise in-state varsity teams.
Pennsylvania is the only program that is sending full varsity and junior varsity teams. New Jersey is sending 10 JV players, and there is a Northeast Combined squad that is comprised of players from the remaining four teams.
That’s a lot of moving parts, but also a lot of players involved in the region’s best age-grade scouting venue.
NORTHEAST RCT ROSTERS
Click here for Pennsylvania’s rosters.
CAPITAL
SENIORS
Alissa Bissonnette – Standstead Quebec
Annie Bovee – Essex, VT
Doireann Chesebrough – South Burlington, VT
Holly Dahlgren – Essex, VT
Raichle Johnson – Rutland, VT
Rebecca Kenny – Rutland, VT
SJ Lamphere – Essex, VT
Nicole McCardle – Rutland, VT
Hollie Parks – Essex, VT
Helen Sears – Maryland
Dani Wassertzug – Maryland
JUNIORS
Katelyn Babson – Saratoga, NY
Viana Bagigalupo – Rensselaer, NY
Tessa Buckey – Rensselaer, NY
Brianna Crouchman – Saratoga NY
Breanne Hawkins – Maryland
Clare Labatti – Saratoga, NY
Emma Parizo – Essex, VT
Mary Reid – Adirondack, NY
Natalie Tomeh – Maryland
Angela Yang – Maryland
SOPHOMORES
Cassidy Reid – Essex, VT
Aimee Kasongo – South Burlington, VT
MASSACHUSETTS – VARSITY & JV
SENIORS
Casey Dion
Samantha Greer
Carolyn Hendry
Maya John
Olivia Stuart
Amanda Swenson
JUNIORS
Rebecca Bianchi
Michelle Comma
Samantha Dickie
Shelley Liu
Sara Nelson
Juliana O’Connor
Georgia Parsons
Zara Silva-Landry
SOPHOMORES
Madeline Gravelle
Emma Hutchins
Sarah Kostue
Ana Macario
Anastasia Morrison
Lisbeth Quintin
Lisa Radin
Jessica Rosenstein
Destiny Vidal
Nia Williams
Grechen Zhang
FRESHMEN
Samantha Carroll
Karee Horton
Zoe Kim
Suley Oller-Guerrero
Christelle Saint Louis
NEW JERSEY – VARSITY
LeAnn Bauer – Morris
Malery Billingy – Play Rugby USA
Tyffany Brisbane – Morris
Kayla Canett – Fallbrook
Jordan Cowan – Morris
Tamlyn Cowan – Morris
Grace dePoortere – Morris
Lelyss Eligio – Play Rugby USA
Gio Ferguson-Lewis – Play Rugby USA
Delia Hellander – Morris
Kelsey Joyce – Morris
Alexandra Kelly – Monmouth
Mia Lancelotti – Union County
Jenny Leon – New York Rugby Club
Abigail MacLaney – Union County
Alie Mennella – Morris
Jessica Nagie – Morris
Grace Pettit – Union County
Kelsey Svaasand – Morris
Leanny Ventura – Play Rugby USA
Yvette Viasus – Morris
Brianna Whitfield – Morris
Faith Whitfield – Union County
Mary Claire King – Union County
NEW JERSEY – JV
Katrina Abedini – Morris
Susan Adegoke – Play Rugby USA
Julianna Aliprandi – Morris
Gianna Caulfield – Morris
Alba Corney – Morris
Anna Glueck – Union County
Isabelle Masi – Morris
Samantha McGann – New York Rugby Club
Mahdia Parker – New York Rugby Club
Jenny Stumpf – Morris
Shikynah Vaz – Play Rugby USA
WESTERN NEW YORK
SENIORS
Abby Bielecki
Hannah Emminger
Elle Fumerelle
Emily Geiger
Carter Maren
Makayla Patton
Gates Stephanie
JUNIORS
Frangelica Bautz
Kelly Degrood
Sara Harmon
Elizabeth Honer
Katherine Matre
Payton McKelvey
Hannah Ricciardi
Hannah Van Elk
SOPHOMORES
Sam Bautz
Emma Daley
Kat Diina
kaylee Gorney
Emily Henrich
Ryan James
Clara Lemal-Brown
Leah Norton
Malayna Vega