ncr.rugby – The inaugural Women’s XV’s All-Star competition did not disappoint as the four separate dream-team rosters, chock full of top talent from around the country, went toe-to-toe on a frigid day in Atlanta landing and absorbing plenty of haymakers in the process.

The tournament, truncated to one day due to the severe winter storm forecasted for Sunday, often felt like a battle of attrition as cold weather, cold hands, and a lack of continuity made for some sloppy play throughout the grueling three-game schedule that each team played. But there were also plenty of moments of brilliance, especially when it came to the first-ever All-Star XV’s champions, Team Stripes.
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Assembled and led by the University of Virginia’s Nancy Kechner, who recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the US Women’s Rugby Foundation, Team Stripes was the only team to finish the tournament with a perfect 3-0 record. The achievement gave them 12 points in standard table scoring and made them the clear winners on the day. They also finished with the highest point differential on the day, one point higher than Team Hawks (32-31), should there have been any doubts in the end.

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Team Stripes started off the day with a close 14-10 win over the aforementioned Hawks, who almost completed an epic comeback after going down by two scores early. Wheeling speedster Tamzin Boyce and Brown University sophomore Caitlin Moroney matched earlier scores by UNI’s Emma Hastings and Notre Dame’s Megan Tremblay to keep the game close. But it was two successful conversions by Nora Richards, the fullback from James Madison, that ultimately made the difference in the opening contest for Team Stripes.
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Kechner’s side got off to another fast start in game number two, scoring four unanswered tries in the first 30 minutes against the Bison, led by Penn State head coach Lauren Shissler. The Stripes spread the scoring around in this one, with NC State’s Keyonna Wilson-Rhodie and JMU’s Violet Powell dotting it down along with Kechner’s own scrumhalf at UVA, Radityah Wahjudi. The Bison battled back in the second half with scores by Wheeling hooker Daisy Cunningham and VCU fullback Ida Shapero, but it wasn’t enough to close the gap.

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While their opening two performances were impressive, the Stripes saved their best for last as they squared off against a stacked Team Stars roster that was desperate to drag the only remaining undefeated team into the muck. DI Player of the Year nominee Lauren Anderson wasn’t having any of it, though, as the hooker from Southern Nazarene did what she does best and bulldozed her way across the try line to give the Stripes another one of their characteristic hot starts. Virginia’s Milena Keene joined the long list of players who heaped glory on the Wahoo’s program this weekend by scoring a try right after Anderson and nailing the conversion on both. A score by Purdue’s Tiara Mason put the Stripes up 21-0 in the first ten minutes of the contest.
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Northeastern’s Kourtney Bichotte-Dunner and UNH’s Elizabeth Breiby both had long, breakaway scores to start the second half, bringing the Stars back within striking distance. But UVA’s Kate Delaney, Kechner’s first pick in the All-Star draft earlier this month, put the cherry on top of what had been a stellar defensive performance from her fullback spot by scoring a back-breaking try with eight minutes left to play and sealing both the 28-12 victory over the stars and Team Stripes’ place in the history books as the first-ever champions of this women’s XV’s All-Star contest.

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Virginia fly-half Milena Keene earned the inaugural XV’s MVP title.
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The Stars looked like they might run away with this tournament after a convincing 45-7 win over the Bison in the first game of the afternoon. Bichotte-Dunner had a brace in that contest while her teammates Chloe Tarango, Ava Hughes, Kate Boggs, Carlyan Vigbedor scored one try apiece. Brown flyhalf Lily McGettigan went 4 of 5 on conversion. But the team assembled and coached by Endicott’s Carly Baker dropped a winnable game in round two against the Hawks, 12-14, before losing to the Stripes in the finale.
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DI-AA Player of the Year Molly McAlevey was a huge part of the Hawks’ success on the weekend, scoring twice across the three game slate. Tara Bogansky, from East Stroudsburg, Vivianne Wright, from Southern Nazarene, Calla Dexheimer, from Wisconsin Eau-Claire, and Kennedy Ridzi, from the Coast Guard Academy, were also standout players for the side led by SNU’s Tom Willoughby.

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The Bison, who finished 0-3, still had plenty of strong performances turned in by the likes of Minnesota’s Halle Hill, Northeastern’s Grace Preston, East Stroudsburg’s Julia Nilsen, and SNU’s Aneesah Herrera, among others.
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Three games in one day is never an easy feat, but the top women’s players in the country made the most of their opportunities and put on quite a show in a tournament that solidified the importance of a XV’s showcase like this one and proved that the future is bright across the sport.

2026 All Tournament Team

Lauren Anderson | Southern Nazarene | Graduate | Stripes
Sophia Bailey | Vassar | Senior | Hawks
Kourtney Bichotte-Dunner | Northeastern | Senior | Stars
Kaitlyn Boggs | Coast Guard Academy | Senior | Stars
Tamzin Boyce | Wheeling | Senior | Hawks
Kate Delaney | Virginia | Senior | Stripes
Ada Erhart | Ohio State | Junior | Stripes
Riley Erickson | Southern Nazarene | Sophomore | Hawks
Emma Hastings | Northern Iowa | Senior | Stripes
Halle Hill | Minnesota | Graduate | Bison
Morgan Hunt | Howard | Sophomore | Stripes
Milena Keene | Virginia | Senior | Stripes
Tabitha Keith | Iowa | Senior | Stars
Natalie Lamar | St. Bonaventure | Junior | Stars
Danica Luzak | Penn State | Junior | Hawks
Tiara Mason | Purdue | Graduate | Stripes
Molly McAlevey | Northeastern | Senior | Hawks
Lily McGettigan | Brown | First Year | Stars
Palu Sau | Southern Nazarene | First Year | Bison
Zoë Simmons | Michigan | Junior | Stripes
Emma Tai | Wheeling | Senior | Hawks
Carlyan Vigbedor | Norwich | Junior | Stars
Vivianne Wright | Southern Nazarene | Junior | Hawks
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“The level of play across both the XVs and 7s tournaments was exceptional, making selections incredibly difficult,” said Women’s Director Alycia Washington. “Our selectors closely evaluated every match, and being named to an All-Tournament Team reflects consistent excellence and impact throughout the day.”