Flanker Mary Kate McNulty is one of five returners.
The Midwest U24 Thunderbirds are crossing the Atlantic once again, this time traveling to Ireland for a 10-day tour. Head coach Jeff Noe used an early-June tryout to narrow down the squad, whose 28 players hail from 19 different teams, ranging from NSCRO to the Women’s Premier League.
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“The team is really looking forward to international competition and an opportunity to see what they are capable of together,” Noe explained. “Only five of the players were on last year’s winning Can-Am squad, so it will be a new mix of talent.”
The Thunderbirds will arrive in Dublin, Ireland, in time to take part in the 10s tournament being held as part of the Women’s Rugby World Cup festivities. Later in the week, the team will have matches against Railway Union and then Ulster in Belfast. In between game preparation and the matches themselves, the Midwest all-star team will watch two World Cup pool games.
MIDWEST U24 THUNDERBIRDS
Megan Ahnen – Fort Wayne Women
Rachel Aufdembrink – Univ Minnesota
Sarah Berry – DePaul Univ
Amber Brevig – Univ Minnesota
Becca Bukvich – Univ Minnesota
Taylor Day – Ohio State
Melanie Eck – Wisconsin Women
Kelley Hirt – County Will Morrigans
Emily Hranchook – Detroit Women
Shannon Hustosky – Kent State
Bethany Kiedrowski – North Dakota State
Angie McCardle – Univ Northern Iowa
Mary Kate McNulty – Denison Univ
Allison Miedzielec – Davenport Univ
Averie Mitchell-Brown – Univ Minnesota
Sidney Montano – Chicago North Shore Women
Hunter Moreland – Davenport Univ
Betty Nguyen – Chicago North Shore Women
Justine Perl – Cincinnati Women
Elizabeth Reding – Iowa State
Leah Riese – Iowa State
Megan Salyars – Univ Northern Iowa
Faith Sorensen – Wayne State
Claire Tomashek – Univ Wisconsin – La Crosse
Hannah Trommer – Kent State
Danielle Walko-Suia – Notre Dame College
Sam Warneke – Wayne State College
Chloe Wickstrom – Pittsburgh Univ
Jeff Noe – Head Coach
Jeff Horton – Backs Coach
Xane Gerasimo – Forwards Coach
Alexandra Glorioso – Manager
Brianna Woodward – Medical
Stephen Newman – Tour Organizer