Ariana Ramsey / Photo: Jackie Finlan
Read the entire USA Rugby’s press release. Below are the notes relevant to the Girls’ High School All-American camp and the rising Women’s Junior All-American camp.
CHULA VISTA, CA. – USA Rugby has today announced the names of 178 athletes who will participate in one of four All-American Winter Camps at the U.S. Olympic Training Site in Chula Vista Dec. 26-31.
The four camps will include the under-18 Girls and Boys High School All-Americans and under-19 Women’s and Men’s rising Junior All-Americans. Each group will participate in its own schedule of training and trial games with the men’s teams arriving on Dec. 26 and the women’s teams arriving on Dec. 27. Each under-18 camp will feature 60 girls and 51 boys with each under-19 camp hosting 36 girls and 31 boys.
The Girls High School All-Americans (U18) and rising Women’s Junior All-Americans (U19) will each end their camp with a collection of intrasquad matches on New Year’s Eve. The U18s will play two matches, one 15s and one 7s, while the U19s will play one 15s match.
Athletes for each camp were selected from recent age-grade assemblies, Regional Cup Tournaments (U18), college and club competitions across the nation. Both women’s camps will be led by Director of Girls High School All-Americans Martha Daines.
The rising Women’s Junior All-Americans will see four players return from the U20 Women’s Tri-Nations Cup in Cassidy Bargell, Tori Jones, Samantha Tancredi and Elizabeth Wilson. Accompanying them are five players from the recent Can-Am Futures Sevens tournament at the High School All-American level including Isabella Devore, Sophia Haley, Clara Lemal-Brown, Alexandra Pipkin and Nohea Uluave.
A pair of cousins will join the Girls High School All-Americans in Amaya and Manaia Moala. The duo are two of three U18 girls who compete together with the South Bay Spartans. The Pennell sisters from Colorado will also be in Chula Vista together.
Director of Girls High School All-Americans Martha Daines said: “Our goal for this camp was to cast as wide a net as possible, bringing in promising players from all around the country. This large group of athletes is incredibly diverse and will benefit by learning from each other in their intrasquad matches. For many players this will be the first national camp they’ve attended. I’m looking forward to seeing how they all respond to the challenge and how much returning players have improved and grown since we saw them last.”
Updates for all four of USA Rugby’s All-American Winter Camps will be available by following @USARugby on Twitter. Information on how to follow trial matches for each age-group will be confirmed closer to date.
In all, the All-American program plays a pivotal role in the identification and development of future national team players. And, in order for players to attend assemblies such as Winter Camp, monetary support from the greater community is crucial so athletes don’t have to pay to play for their country. To support USA Rugby’s All-American programs, click here.
Girls HS All-American Camp Attendees (U18)
Lewanda Aspinall — United (UT)
Kapoina Bailey — Kona (HI)
Carlicia Beam — Freedom Prep (TN)
Kaitlyn Bell — Broken Arrow (OK)
Kristin Bitter — Torrey Pines (CA)
Katherine Buzby — Belmont Shore (CA)
Jenaya Caban — Play Rugby (NY)
Gracie Cartwright — Pleasanton (CA)
Erica Cathey — Freedom Prep (TN)
Alyssa Cunningham — Catholic Memorial (WI)
Alle English — Lakewood (OH)
Abby Fearey — San Marcos (CA)
Lauren Ferridge — Maryland Exiles (MD)
Joyleen Fifita — Denver East (CO)
Nafanua Fitisemanu — United (UT)
Tupou Fononga — Centennial (OR)
Emma Fredlund-Adams — Meridian (ID)
Mikayla Gamangasso — Wasatch (UT)
Itzel George-Murguia — Valley Panthers (OR)
Ellis Gunter — Denver South (CO)
Jayla Hampton — Soulsville (TN)
Tessa Hann — Westside Swarm (CO)
Jocelyn Hanson — Rocky Mountain (ID)
Tiyana Hooker — White Horse (PA)
Kaloni Hotton — Herriman (UT)
Abigail Kayser — Divine Savior Holy Angels (WI)
Avery Keomra — Taft (IL)
Nicole Kimball — Summit (CO)
Alilia Lavemai — Beaverton (OR)
Reina Lavulavu — United (UT)
Johnneisha Lee — Taft (IL)
Lori Liddic — Park Hill (MO)
Siniva Mailo — Carson (CA)
Sofia Mancini — Malvern Prep (PA)
Isabelle Masi — Morris (NJ)
Angelina Mason — Doylestown (PA)
Daria McCabe — Southington (CT)
Amaya Moala — South Bay (CA)
Manaia Moala — South Bay (CA)
Emma Morino — Morris (NJ)
Libby Moser — North Central (IN)
Alycia Namosimalua — SacPD PAL (CA)
Mahdia Parker — New York (NY)
Cecelia Pennell — Summit (CO)
Olivia Popp — Land Park (CA)
Ava Procter — Lake Oswego (OR)
Madeline Rose — Scottsdale (AZ)
Taina Scott — Kahuku (HI)
Bella Sinatra — Malvern Prep (PA)
Punipuao Skipps — South Bay (CA)
Princess Tafiti — United (UT)
Kerena Tinoisamoa — Mission (CA)
Shy Tonumaipea — Carson (CA)
Kelly Tosheff — La Costa Canyon (CA)
Makenna Tuman — West Pittsburgh (PA)
Zonaye Tupuola — Carson (CA)
Jayla Twitty — Cincinnati Walnut Hills (OH)
Anna Van Dyk — Palmer (CO)
Paula Vincze — Summit (CO)
Alexandra Wantlin — Wellington (FL)
Rising Junior All-Americans (U19)
Alejandra Ada — Dartmouth
Ubaida Ahmed — Mount St. Mary’s
Destiny Arena — Lindenwood
Cassidy Bargell — Harvard
Megan Bird — Davenport
Mckenzie Borchers — Army
Bailey Burt — Colby-Sawyer
Kelly DeGrood — St. Bonaventure
Isabella Devore — Lindenwood
Moira Dillow — Lindenwood
Giovanna Ferguson-Lewis — Army
Sophia Haley — Dartmouth
Saher Hamdan — Notre Dame College
Erica Jarrell — Harvard
Tori Jones — Notre Dame
Allison Koenig — Quinnipiac
Jessica Laughlin — Lindenwood
Clara Lemal-Brown — Quinnipiac
Aviana Matteo — Notre Dame
Shariyf Mayer — NOVA
Lynsey McKinney — Texas A&M
Ryan Payne — View Park (CA)
Marin Pennell — Dartmouth
Alexandra Pipkin — North Bay
Karissa Postula — ORSU
Ariana Ramsey — Dartmouth
Matja Saarenheimo-VanderHorst — Quinnipiac
Marion Sellier — Brown
STAFF
Director, Girls High School All-Americans | Martha Daines
U18 Coach | Rys Chadwick
U18 Coach | Sue Whitwell
U18 Coach | Josie Zulica
U18 Strength & Conditioning Coach | Mic Staniford
U19 Lead Coach | Chago Ricardo Ramirez
U19 Coach | Craig Wilson
U19 Coach | Emily Record
U19 Strength & Conditioning | Sylvia Braaten
Project SOAR Coach | Joel Bonnaud
Project SOAR Coach | Garrett Fisher
Performance Analyst | Ken Pape
Head Athletic Trainer | Diane Watanabe
Athletic Trainer | Danielle Allen
Athletic Trainer | Krystina Aguilera
Team Manager | Annemarie Farrell
Pathway Manager | Anna Kunkel