The entire back row, plus Strasko and Sever in front, return to the Tiger jersey.
Tiger 1823 is one of 12 teams competing in the LVI Women’s Elite 7s division and is bringing a familiar, potent lineup to Nevada. Seven players have returned from the Tiger Cubs squad that competed at the Lupus Intus 7s showcase in September, and a total of 15 athletes are assembling under head coach Nese Malifa’s direction in Las Vegas.
Life West (Hayward, Calif.) has contributed seven players, four of which are capped Eagles: Elizabeth Cairns, Mata Hingano, Jenn Sever and Nicole Strasko. And Tiger teammates Nikki Kenyon, Cameo Motley and Amy Naber have been instrumental in the team’s success at the club 7s and 15s national championships. Life West Director of Rugby Adriaan Ferris is the active connection with Tiger and served as the Cubs head coach during the September tournament at Dartmouth.
American Rugby Pro Training Center (ARPTC) is also an active collaborator with Tiger and contributed four players from last summer’s training block. Hannah Tennant and Olivia Ortiz spend most of their year with DI fall champion Davenport University, and two of their Panthers teammates bring loads of 7s experience to the Tiger squad. Danielle Ordway, one of the most decorated collegians in the game today, is an All-American 7s star and played summer ball with the Chicago Lions, and freshman Megan Bird has represented Atlantis and the Midwest at home and abroad.
Christina Swift is a recent Life University graduate who plays 15s with Ft. Miami. She spent last summer with the Atlanta Harlequins but spent summer 2016 in Little Rock, Ark. Neariah Persinger has deep roots with ARPTC and featured in the 2018 USA Falcons tours to Australia and Japan. The Oklahoman exited last weekend’s Okinawa 7s with an injury so we’ll see if she’s fit for play in Las Vegas. Elona Williams is the driver behind UC Irvine, and the ICEF graduate got her first significant taste of senior club 7s rugby last year.
“Coach Julie McCoy has been instrumental in helping Tiger Women’s Rugby evolve over the past 12 months and there will more opportunities for female athletes playing for Tiger Rugby – especially now the California Capital & Investment Group has come onboard as a major sponsor,” Ferris thanked the ARPTC founder. “Tiger founders James Walker and Paul Holmes are excited to be helping develop future Olympic hopefuls in the women’s game.”
Morgan Roberts represents New England and is no stranger to select 7s or international touring. An LVI veteran, the Beantown has typically donned the Northeast Academy and is adding Tiger 1823 to the resume.
TIGER 1823 @ LVI 7s
Megan Bird – Davenport Univ.
Elizabeth Cairns – Life West
Mata Hingano – Life West
Nikki Kenyon – Life West
Cameo Motley – Life West
Amy Naber – Life West
Danielle Ordway – Davenport / Chicago Lions
Olivia Ortiz – Davenport / ARPTC
Neariah Persinger – At-large / ARPTC
Morgan Roberts – Beantown
Jenn Sever – Life West
Nicole Strasko – Life West
Christina Swift – Ft. Miami / Atlanta 7s
Hannah Tennant – Davenport / ARPTC
Elona Williams – UC Irvine / ARPTC
STAFF
Head Coach: Nese Malifa
Assistant Coach: Alex Houser
Team Manager: David Morris
Athletic Trainer: Purvi Desai
Team Doctor: Dr. Scott Lessard
Pool play will be contested from 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Thursday, March 1 on Silver Bowl field #14. Friday’s knockouts relocate to field #15 and begin at 8:00 a.m., and the finalists will be known by noon. The title match will be contested Saturday at 2:37 p.m. inside Sam Boyd Stadium.
POOL A
Scion Woo
Tiger 1823
BC Rugby
Lady Vipers (UT)
POOL B
Team Quebec
Santa Barbara Academy
Scion Elite
All Bae All Day
POOL C
Stars
Northeast Academy
Misfits
Chicago Lions
#Tiger LVI