U.S. Girls & Women's Rugby News • EST 2016

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EGRL Selects Ready to Contend in Florida

Florida All-Star U18 rugby logo

The 2025 Girls’ U18 15s Territorial Championship involves four select sides that essentially divide the country into quadrants. The Elite Girls Rugby League (EGRL) brings Northeast and Mid-Atlantic representation to St. Petersburg, Fla., and the organization itself brings a ton of administrative support and visibility to the Feb. 14-15 tournament. [lead graphic c/o @elitegirlsrugby]

RELATED: USA West debuts at U18 15s All-Stars

Bill Dobbs (Morris), Brian Melody (West Carroll) and Jeff Adamczyk (North Bay) comprise the coaching staff, and EGRL director Mike Eisenhart (Morris) will manage the personnel. They vetted players after two “Black vs. Blue” games in the fall, and the 25 high schoolers selected represent eight of the EGRL’s 12 teams. Pennsylvania leads with 12 players, and they’re joined by teammates from Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina and South Carolina. It’s a mostly senior (14) and junior (8) squad, but three sophomores also made the cut.

“We had the great luxury of choosing 25 very qualified and determined players from a field nearing 100,” Eisenhart said. “It made for some difficult choices, but we think ultimately we’ve landed on a strong combination of players that can challenge the other three teams in every aspect of the game.”

EGRL SELECTS

Rebecca Balladares – Sr., West Carroll, Md.
Allison Beckenhauer – Sr., Doylestown, Pa.
Sara Butler – Jr., Charlotte Cardinals, N.C.
Kendra Close – Sr., Corning, N.Y.
Charlotte Davies – Sr., Downingtown, Pa.
Cara Doherty – Soph. Aspetuck Valley, Conn.
Nolah Flynn – Jr., Doylestown, Pa.
Amber Garrett – Jr., Wando, S.C.
Sydney Haddon – Jr., Doylestown, Pa.
Maia Koppany – Sr., Charlotte Cardinals, N.C.
Norah Landerman – Sr., Morris, N.J.
Maia Letzsch – Jr., West Carroll, Md.
Sana’a Lunon – Sr., Doylestown, Pa.
Abbey McGettigan – Soph., Downingtown, Pa.
Lily McGettigan – Sr., Downingtown, Pa.
Bridget McGonigle – Jr., Doylestown, Pa.
Carolyn Melody – Sr., West Carroll, Md.
Kathryn O’Boyle – Sr., West Carroll, Md.
Erin O’Brien – Sr., Morris, N.J.
Jess Pascoe – Sr., Downingtown, Pa.
Olive Rhodes – Soph. Morris, N.J.
Reese Smith – Sr., Aspetuck Valley, Conn.
Makaela Snow – Sr., Downingtown, Pa.
Akayla Towles – Jr., Downingtown, Pa.
Jocelyn Terry – Jr., Doylestown, Pa.

Selected but unable to travel: Abby Cirillo (Morris, Sr.), Laida Govier (West Carroll, Jr.), Mersadees Washington (Raleigh Redhawks, Sr.)

Reigning champion Midwest Thunderbirds, host USA South and newcomer USA West await in Florida. It’s a round robin affair, with two games contested on Friday evening and the remaining four matches on Saturday. Standings will name the champion.

 

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“We’ve gotten closer and closer each year toward our goal,” Eisenhart added. “In year one, we were happy just to field a team and compete. Last year things got really interesting with a nailbiter of a final game, which we ultimately saw Midwest take. This year we are hoping we’ve cracked the code and get to put our name on the trophy.”

Games will occur at Puryear Park (field 5) in St. Petersburg, and EGRL will be live-streaming and narrating the matches on its YouTube channel (@elitegirlsrugbyleague). Kris O’Brien is the lead there, and he will be assisted by Brian Ahern, Lance Connolly, Nelson Galarza and Jan Monrad. The EGRL website is also the information hub for the tournament. Peruse the site and better understand the structure and connection that EGRL brings to an event. To boot, it has cultivated an excellent relationship and reputation with scouts and college coaches, and eases their recruitment process by providing player headshots, detailed bios, GPAs, contact info, etc. EGRL will also host a tournament-ending social at the Largo Moose Lodge.

“This event is really one of the best going in 15s at the U18 level in my opinion,” Eisenhart closed. “We are committed to using any resources we have to help it grow. I’d love to see an extended lead-up in the fall or a way to include more teams and I think it could happen in 2025-26. Stay tuned.”

As for this season, the EGRL begins with its Rugby Showcase South, March 8-9 at Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C. And then the season really starts moving, as the multi-state league pits high-performing 15s teams against each other. Read the league’s preseason teaser. It all culminates on June 7-8 with the Champions Cup and main Rugby Showcase in Clinton, N.J.

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