Salote Tausinga (seen here at the 2018 YOG 7s) is the lone high schooler on the squad. / Photo: Jackie Finlan
LOS ANGELES – The USA Women’s Falcons have named 12 players for the Los Angeles Invitational taking place Friday, Feb. 28 to Saturday, Feb. 29 alongside HSBC LA Sevens.
Day One takes place at Orange County Sports Park (Irvine) with Day Two at Dignity Health Sports Park Field Complex (Carson). The Falcons will be led by USA Women’s Sevens Head Coach Chris Brown with Alena Olsen and Kasey McCravey serving as co-captains.
The roster features six players from the USA Sevens residency program and two from the USA Women’s XVs player pool in Cortney Kuehl and Sarah Levy. Club Sevens MVP Teigan MacDonald and USA Women’s U20s player Cassidy Bargell are both included.
As the official development program for the senior national team, the Falcons will see players with a mix of experience compete together over the two days. The Falcons will face the Berkeley All Blues and ORSU in Pool A and one opponent from Pool B in Atlantis. While a broadcast is not in place, score updates will be posted across twitter.com/usarugby.
“We spend a lot of time on the training paddock with little playing opportunities for many of our resident squad,” said Brown. “I’m excited for a number of our core players to have the opportunity to get out there and express themselves as they carry the flag for the program this weekend.
“I’m also excited to spend more time with a few of our next generation players as we build through this week. What’s been a real positive is the time this group has spent together over the last three months. The job General Manager Emilie Bydwell has done to ensure we’ve had sufficient prep time has been outstanding. Especially for us as a group in bringing in a high level of consistent individuals in the last six months.”
Schedule and pools for the Los Angeles Invitational will be confirmed closer to date. The LAI features a variety of divisions across all skill levels. While a broadcast partner has not been confirmed, score updates will be published across @USARugby’s Twitter Page.
For more information, click here or visit lasevensrugby.com.
USA FALCONS LAI 7s ROSTER
1. Teigan MacDonald – Prop / Wing, San Diego Surfers
2. Kasey McCravey (Co-Captain) – Hooker / Scrumhalf, USA Sevens
3. Emily Henrich – Prop / Center, USA Sevens
4. Alena Olsen (Co-Captain) – Scrumhalf / Flyhalf, USA Sevens
5. Alex Sedrick – Flyhalf / Center, Life University
6. Salote Tausinga – Center / Prop, SacPAL Amazons
7. Kayla Lawson – Wing, USA Sevens
8. Lauren Thunen – Prop, USA Sevens
9. Cassidy Bargell – Hooker / Prop, Harvard University
10. Cortney Kuehl – Prop / Center, Atlanta Harlequins
11. Ashlee Byrge – Scrumhalf / Flyhalf, USA Sevens
12. Sarah Levy – Hooker / Wing, New York RC
STAFF
Head Coach | Chris Brown
Coach | Dave Clancy
Athletic Trainer | Hillary Stepansky
Strength & Conditioning | Trey Ford
Team Manager | Kelly Griffin
LAI 7s SCHEDULE
vs All Blues | Fri, Feb 28 – 9:20 AM PT
vs ORSU | Fri, Feb 28 – 11:40 AM PT
vs Atlantis | Fri, Feb 28 – 2 PM PT
Knockouts begin Sat, Feb 29 at 8 AM PT