Renamed this “quick hits” piece to “Screenshot Diaries,” the idea being that there is so much rugby news to cover, but not enough time in the day to devote to the features these items deserve. Read last week’s entry for an intro into the weekly column, and then scroll on down through international and domestic highlights on the girls and women’s game in the U.S. [lead photo: Cal beat Chico State last weekend / @hoiho_photo]
INTERNATIONAL
Did you read the most recent Ilona Maher feature in The Athletic, the sports-dedicated arm of the New York Times? Caoimhe O’Neill has written a couple of pieces on the U.S. rugby megastar, but the March 3 article comes after Maher and the Bristol Bears bowed out of the Premier Women’s Rugby (U.K.) semifinals. There will be one USA Eagle — Saracen’s Lotte Sharp — in the March 16 final.
NATIONAL
• The Women’s Elite Rugby (WER) teams have started announcing their reserve lists, which include players who train in the pro environment and have the potential to be called into the squad when injuries or USA responsibilities take players out of rotation. Three teams have publicly posted these extended rosters:
Chicago Tempest (9): Maria Bashmakov, Elizabeth Geary, Ariane Lozac’hmeur, Kamille Miller, Colleen Murphy, Laketa Sutton, Rebecca Tillman, Emily Tunney, Mackenzie Wood
New York Exiles (7): Mireille Berry, Jane Carino, Grace Murphy, Maggie Olney, Maggie Ribardo, Jade Robinson, Sophia Zaragoza
TC Gemini (10)*: Megan Ahnen, Natayah Bauer, Siusie Dawson, Maya Hartnett, Bailey Johnson, Madeline Lambert, Christina Licari, Sydney Martichuski, Diamond Meidinger, Caitlyne Poe
*Gemini also added Canada age player and Harvard grad Brogan Mior to the roster, which was otherwise announced on Feb. 18.
• Love me a WRCRA article, which is always penned by smart people with a ton of rugby perspective and history. The latest: How Are You Going to Win Without Lesbians?
• There are two major talent ID circuits currently occurring touring the U.S., but one is geared toward high schoolers and the other is geared toward adults. Both have added new dates/locations to their respective schedules, which are contained to the spring.
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USA Rugby Women’s High Performance has expanded from eight to 12 stops: Charlotte, N.C. (March 23), Lebanon, N.J. (March 30), Chicago (April 13) and Indianapolis (May 4). More info & registration.
There are now 10 USA Youth & High School talent ID camps: More info & registration. Boston was recently added for May 25. Last Sunday, the Houston Sabercats hosted approximately 100 high schoolers in the free event (see below), which will also ID players for the HS Pathway program.
SENIOR CLUB
The San Diego vs. Tempe rematch did not disappoint! The two DI teams played to a two-point decision (to the Surfers) in the opening round of the SoCal 15s league, and then the Ninjas traveled to SoCal last Saturday. The home side took a 15-14 lead into halftime and then pushed out to 22-14 in the second half. With minutes on the clock, Tempe’s Raquel Macias dotted down and then Alex Jaro, who also kicked two conversions, hit a penalty kick for a 22-22 tie.
San Diego got its tries from Kyla Letoi (2), Alexa Scott and Lauren Thunen, who also added the conversion. Tempe also got tries from Tina Aprahamian and Veronica Houck. The expectation is to see these two teams a third time on April 12 for the league title and berth to Pacific Super Regional Championships in Las Vegas.
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The Twin Cities Amazons announced that the club will entering a DI into the 2025-26 competitive cycle, and will also keep its DII active in the Midwest. Why is this important? With the introduction of the WER, former WPL teams are making decisions on where to place their players who are not participating in the pro league. Division I is the obvious choice, and we’ve already seen Life West (which is in the Bay Area Breakers territory) take that route in NorCal this spring. If Chicago North Shore (also in the TC Gemini territory, like the Amazons) also go DI, that will really pump up the Midwest DI scene this fall. Read more. Conversely, the Berkeley All Blues have kept their second side in Division II NorCal, and the rosters have kept that competitive integrity intact.
More club scores from last weekend
COLLEGE
Massive thanks to photographers Alex Ho (@hoiho_photo) and Jeff Dalton (@jeffd2u), who always share beautiful albums of women’s college games. Last weekend, Ho — who is a World Rugby and USA 7s photographer — took in Cal vs. Chico State in the DI Pacific Mountain, and my favorite shot is the lead on this article. Jeff Dalton documented the DI Pacific Desert showdown between the still-unscored upon Grand Canyon University and Claremont Colleges (sample below). March is the final month of regular-season play for CRAA 15s programs, and then playoffs begin in April.
Grand Canyon on the run / Photo: Jeff Dalton Photography
With Kitt Ruiz taking the head coaching position at the WER Boston Banshees, Brown University (an NCAA Division I program) had a vacancy open up for an assistant coach. None other than Karameli Faaee has accepted the role and, woof, what a pickup.
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The Bears will likely feature at the 2025 CRC 7s in Boyds, Md., this April, but the Premier team does still need to qualify. So far, seven women’s college teams have booked their tickets to Boyds, Md., so far. Check out the automatic qualifier schedule.
HIGH SCHOOL
Carolina Ruggerfest was another big affair in North Carolina and saw a bunch of girls’ high school teams kick off their spring 15s seasons with great competition. Check out the winners.
The Wando Wahine participated in Ruggerfest, fresh off a Rugby South Carolina championship. Read more from head coach Kerry Gholson, who talks about how the team shifts into more of a state all-star team for the spring and the grads who keep the current players intrigued in what’s next. Catch them and a slew of Elite Girls Rugby League teams at this weekend’s college showcase at Guilford College (Greensboro, N.C.).
There was a pre-season 15s tournament in St. George, Utah, last weekend, and the Scottsdale Wolves traveled north to win the desert roundup. At present, the Utah Youth Rugby Xplorer page shows 12 (!!!) sides in the girls’ varsity 15s competition. Very excited to see how many of these teams are able to field 15s numbers, because that is big-time growth. And on Saturday, it’s the never-to-be-missed Majestics vs. United match at Centennial Junior High.
This weekend, two Montana teams (Flathead Valley and Gallatin) are also heading to Utah for some pre-season matches. Montana has added two new girls’ high school teams — Cascade Chargers and Yellowstone Mavericks — for the spring season.