U23 All-Star 15s Competition: Rosters + Info

USA Rugby re-introduced the U23 15s All-Star Competition earlier this year, and programs had to apply for inclusion. The following is a round-up of the eight regional teams that are meant to compete in divisional tournaments and/or the national championship this June. Updates are on-going as information is discovered.

The eight teams are divided into East and West divisions. On June 11-12, the four East teams will meet in Clinton, N.J., for the divisional playoffs, while the four West teams will meet Treasure Island in San Francisco, Calif. The top two teams from both locations advance to the national championship on June 25-26 in Lemont, Ill. Nationals takes place the same weekend and at the same location as WPL nationals. USA U23 head coach Katie Dowty will be on hand as she scouts for a July camp and competition against Canada.

It’s important to note that the following teams’ boundaries are flexible this year to accommodate the newness of the competition and players’ availability. Additionally, those players in college can align with the region in which their college is located or the region they call “home.”

WEST DIVISION

CENTRAL SOUTH MUSTANGS
• States: Texas, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Nebraska
• Contact: Marie Foster Wilson
• Info page: Link.

ROSTER
Rachel Beymer – Univ. Central Missouri
Katheryne Blackman – Univ. Central Missouri
Georgianna Bray – Univ. Central Missouri
Rebecca Carcano – Round Rock Rage (Texas)
Claire Cauthan – OKC Crusaders (Okla.)
Maisey Clausen – Wayne State College (Neb.)
Jaylynn Gray – Alliance Rugby Club (Texas)
Sam Hilarides – Letourneau Univ. (Texas)
Jasmin Johme – Wayne State College (Neb.)
Ashley Jones – Southern Nazarene Univ. (Okla.)
Abby Kinnard – Texas State
Kaelyn Kovarik – Univ. Missouri
Kacie Lapsley – Kansas City Jazz (Mo.)
Alma Pressley – San Antonio Riveters (Texas)
Jennae Ramey – Texas State
Jamelia Reed – Oklahoma Univ.
Yuming Ren – San Antonio Riveters (Texas)
Ragan Rodriguez – Wayne State College (Neb.)
Jordyn Ruth – OKC Crusaders (Okla.)
Christ Thomas – Dallas Harlequins (Texas)
Cynthia Vargas – San Antonio Riveters (Texas)
Bianca Wollmeister – Kansas State Univ.

STAFF
Lachlan Ferguson – Head Coach
Mary Swanstrom – Set Piece & Contact Skills
Holly Iker – Defense
KJ Abel – Forwards & Open Play
Jody Lawrence – Analysis
Oksana Goretaya – Backs
Marie Wilson – Team Manager

PACIFIC NORTHWEST
Originally, a Rocky Mountain / Prairie States team was supposed to compete but a last-minute dropout saw the Pacific Northwest fill the vacancy. Read more.

ROSTER
Kai Brandt-Templeton – CWU
Sydney Copeland – Western Washington University
Rachel Corkill – ORSU WPL
Malena DeLeon – Fresno State
Stephanie Elizondo – Fresno State
Jade Hill – ORSU WPL
Hannah Kang – University of Washington
Louisa Keating – Bend Lady RoughRiders
Chetna Kumar-Naicker – Fresno State
Mariko Moore – ORSU WPL
Philomena Namosimalua – CWU
Winnie Namosimalua – CWU
Tirzah Pelton – Belmont Shore
Tua Tanupo – ORSU WPL
Tee Teaupa – Lindenwood University
Nincy Vazquez-Rodezno – ORSU WPL

Coach: Michelle Moldonado (Fresno Golden Dogs RC)

PACIFIC NORTH
• Northern California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada (excluding Las Vegas)
• Team: California Grizzlies
• Contact: Evan Hoese

Dakota Bailey-Van Kuren
Katherine Brown
Sierra Dean
Shareni Donis
SEla Falepapalangi
Kris Fischer-Colbrie
Mariana Henke
Mrin Jain
Sydney Lenoch
Moko Mahe
Dorothy Mao
Krista Matsumara
Vanessa Ortiz-Pallen
Angelina Pohahau
Summer Prescott
Tina Sama
Mei Sanft
Nise Sanft
Liz Tafuna
Seta Tuatoo
Mona Tupou
Nora Webb
Anna Weier

PACIFIC SOUTH
• Southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, Las Vegas, Hawaii
• Team: SCRFU Griffins
• Contact: Joanne Absher

Sam Brackett – Santa Barbara
Syanne Callier – Grand Canyon Univ.
Bianca Curtis – Grand Canyon Univ.
Stephanie Davies – Arizona State
Amaya De La Cruz – Grand Canyon Univ.
Erika Delgado – Univ. Arizona
Janice Dykes – Grand Canyon Univ.
Makenna Flynn – Tempe
Alecia Foster – UC Irvine
Tori Froh – Tempe
Ana Lavongtheung – Claremont Colleges (CHI only)
Angel Lucero – Grand Canyon Univ.
Savonna McGlothan – Grand Canyon Univ.
Peyton Nagel – Univ. Arizona / Old Pueblo
Kalisi Pooi – Grand Canyon Univ.
Kaylee Westmoreland – San Diego Surfers
Christy Xie – San Diego Surfers

EAST DIVISION

ATLANTIC NORTH
• States: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey
• Team: Northeast Academy
• Contact: Devin DiGiovanni

Rebecca Anderson – Univ. British Columbia / Boston Women
Ali Banks – Univ. Maine Farmington
Mireille Berry – Northeastern Univ.
Gianna Calciano – Loyola Univ. of Maryland / Morris (N.J.)
Kayla Coan – Northeast Irish WRFC
Hannah Coupas – Castleton State
Tess Downes – UMass Amherst
Emerson Goodrich – Brown Univ.
Nyatasha Jackowicz – Providence Women
Justice Laforest – Providence Women
Sophia Loosemore – Virginia Tech / Morris
Cait Mallahan – Roger Williams Univ.
Jordyn Marlin – Union County (N.J.)
Emilia Monrad – N.C. State / Morris
Sophia Nieves – Boston Women
Fatoumata Ouattara – Village Lions (N.Y.)
Maya Raghavan – Northeastern Univ.
Natalie Roberts – Univ. Edinburgh / Boston Women
Ciara Sharkey – Marywood Univ. / Morris
Vanessa Surridge – Roger Williams Univ.
Rachel Warren – Providence Women
Mia Wild – North Buffalo Ninjas
Sophia Zaragoza – Colby-Sawyer College

Unable to travel
Gemma Ryu – Brown Univ.

MID-ATLANTIC
• States: Eastern Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Virginia, West Virginia
• Team: Young Glory (read more)
• Contact: Sean Cobb

ROSTER
Emma Auld – Univ. Virginia
Grace Bailey – James Madison Univ.
Abagail Bartenstein – Mount St Mary’s Univ.
Natalie Bjorklund – Penn State University
Jada Blair – NOVA
Tamara Bullock – James River
Honor Burke – Temple Univ.
Sydney Cope – Bloomsburg University
Mayada Hassan – William & Mary
Emma Jacobs – Mount St Mary’s
Morgan Mattia – East Stroudsburg University
Keara McMinn – DeSales Univ.
Jennavieve Miller – Virginia Tech
Grace Nasarenko – Penn State Univ.
Leah Palmesano – Mount St Mary’s Univ.
Molly Petronzio – Bowdoin College
Kayla Ramsay – New England College
Margaret Ribardo – Virginia Tech
Hanna Rojas-Rhodes – Mount St Mary’s Univ.
Jaida Rudkin – Penn State University
Hannah Starolis – York College
Saoirse Teevan-Kamhawi – Univ. Virginia
Lael Thomas – Shippensburg Univ.
Alexis Vance – Mount St Mary’s Univ.
Alyson Witt – UNC Chapel Hill
Libby York – Univ. Mary Washington

MIDWEST
• States: Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota
• Midwest Thunderbirds (read more)
• Contact: Meghan Flanigan

ROSTER
Hailey Andreason – Metropolis Valkyries
Maggie Burns – Univ. Northern Iowa
Megan Bird – Davenport Univ.
Hailey Bray – Univ. Wisconsin LaCrosse
Grace Bryson – Univ. Minnesota
Aubrey Buresh – Univ. Northern Iowa
Alyssa Cunningham – Sacred Heart Univ.
Siusan Dawson – Univ. Wisconsin Eau Claire
Madie Dunn – Iowa State
* Tori Gettys – Fort Wayne
Isabell Gibbon – Cincinnati Kelts
Loren Henrich – Univ. Illinois Chicago
Abbey Jacobs – Univ. Wisconsin Eau Claire
* Kaylyn Hornbeak – Kent State
Lauren Kuffel – Univ. Michigan
Embar Larson – Univ. Michigan
Alivia Leatherman – Notre Dame College
Amaryah McGowen – Univ. Iowa
Geneva Nunes – Fox Valley Chaos
Ryley Rand – Marquette
Tatyana Reed – Univ. Northern Iowa
Areliz Rivera – Milwaukee Scylla
Danielle Sheppard – Des Moines
Courtney Smith-Hernandez – Iowa State
Ciara Stanerson-Edwards – Univ. Northern Iowa
Jayla Twitty – Cincinnati Kelts
*Unable to travel to New Jersey

Coaches: Sue Whitwell, Meghan Flanigan, Xane Gerasimo
Team manager: Jade Koenigs

SOUTH
• States: North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee
• Team: South U23 Harlequins (read more)
• Contact: Rosalind Chou

ROSTER
1. Ubaida Ahmed – Raleigh
2. Emerson Allen – Life Univ.
3. Kapoina Bailey – Lindenwood Univ.
4. Bailey Burt – Lander Univ.
5. Jess Burt – Lander Univ.
6. Emmaclaire Cantrell – Cardiff Met
7. Mary Chura – Emory & Henry College
8. Alle English – Queens Univ. Charlotte
9. Irie Farley – Lindenwood Univ.
10. Morgan Freeman – Ft. Miami
11. Samantha Ganoza – Ft. Miami
12. Saher Hamdan – Life Univ.
13. Chloe Hill – Eckerd College
14. Liana Holani – Lindenwood Univ.
15. Jess Keating – Life Univ.
16. Autumn LoCicero – Life Univ.
17. Candela Mangiardi-Querol – Eckerd College
18. Nina Mason – Life Univ.
19. Tonia O’Neill – Florida State/Tampa Bay Krewe
20. Emily Rahija – Univ. Central Florida
21. Sarah Scott – Raleigh
22. Puni Skipps – Lindenwood Univ.
23. Freda Tafuna – Lindenwood Univ.
24. Pepe Toomalatai – Life Univ.
25. Taina Tukuafu – Lindenwood Univ.
26. Brooklyn Vaifanua – Life Univ.
27. Erin Wholey – Lander Univ.

Coaching Staff: Ros Chou, Billy Nicholas, Lisa Jackson, Emily Roskopf and Kelsey Brachna