USA RUGBY – The USA Women’s U20s program will assemble from Dec. 27-31 at Life University for its winter 15s camp. The USA High Performance Pathways is preparing for its 2024 tournaments and continuing its player development. [Lead photo: Neil Kennedy for USA Rugby]
Women’s U20s head coach Joel Bonnaud will lead the group of 34 in Marietta, Ga., and focus on skill development for these players. The group is a combination of prospects transitioning from the U18s pathway and players identified through scouting this past fall.
Focusing on training athletes to prepare for tournament-style work periods, the camp will ready the team to start 2024 with a pool of players on the same page.
“This camp is dedicated to players who are brand new to the U20 age grade,” Bonnaud told usa.rugby. “[A]nd the main objective is twofold: Give them the opportunity to get familiar and comfortable with our environment on and off the field, and see how much ownership they can take in a short period of time, both individually and collectively.
“We will start prepping tactically, technically and mentally for the summer with an extended roster in January while building a more comprehensive – and even more exciting – brand of rugby once we gather by setting up strong foundations and addressing details quicker than before,” he added.
Half of the players (17) hail from NCAA Division I or Division II varsity rugby programs. Another nine student-athletes represent the DI Elite. National Collegiate Rugby (DI Univ. Northern Iowa), the Women’s Premier League (Life West) and an international rugby program (Cardiff Met Univ) has sent one rep apiece. Finally, five attendees are still in high school.
USA U20 WINTER CAMP ATTENDEES
| First Name | Last Name | Current Team (HS team, if applicable) |
|---|---|---|
| Makenna | Bailey | Lindenwood Univ (Rancho Bernardo / San Diego Mustangs) |
| Caroline | Cook | Charlotte Cardinals, N.C. |
| Carrie | Coyer-Westerberg | Davenport Univ (Brecksville-Broadview Heights, Ohio) |
| Kendall | Cunningham | Brown Univ (Pleasanton Cavaliers, Calif.) |
| Charlotte | Dauser | Davenport Univ (Sparta-Rock, Mich.) |
| Caliann | Dietz | Mount St Mary’s Univ (West Carroll, Md.) |
| Lauren | DiPasquale | Central Washington Univ (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) |
| Madison | Doyle | Life Univ (Doylestown, Pa.) |
| Sofia | Fernandez | Life Univ (Rancho Bernardo, Calif.) |
| Sydney | Gottesman | Harvard Univ (Marin Highlanders, Calif.) |
| AJ | Haughey | Life Univ (Fallbrook, Calif.) |
| Maya | Hilger | Harvard Univ (Sacramento Harlequins, Calif.) |
| Erica | Kissinger | Cardiff Met Univ, Wales (North Texas / MacDowell Academy) |
| Summer | Latu | Life West Univ (East Palo Alto, Calif.) |
| Morgan | Linck | Univ Northern Iowa (Cedar Falls, Iowa) |
| Alexandria | Ma’ae | Central Washington Univ (Lakewood, Calif.) |
| Ellie | Mahe | United Rugby, Utah |
| Neasa | McLaughlin | Harvard University (Morris, N.J.) |
| Yesenia | Morales | U.S. Military Academy (Divine Savior Holy Angels, Wis.) |
| Avery | Morgan | Brigham Young Univ (Mountain View, Idaho) |
| Kate | Muldoon | Brown Univ (Monarch, Colo.) |
| Alopa | Nau | Davenport Univ (Majestics, Utah) |
| Hehea | Pulotu | Dartmouth College (Pasefika, Hawaii) |
| Ava | Reuter | Lindenwood Univ (Eagan, Minn.) |
| Taylor | Sadek | Dartmouth College (Shanghai American School, China) |
| Lissa | Salisbury | Life Univ (Carmel, Ind.) |
| Venise | Sanft | American International College (East Palo Alto, Calif.) |
| Danica | Snyder | South Orange County Raptors, Calif. |
| Courtney | Taylor | Harvard Univ (Greer, S.C.) |
| Mia | Taylor | Belmont High School, Mass. |
| Ashley | Torres-Brown | Sacred Heart Univ (Greenwich HS / Aspectuck, Conn.) |
| Reese | Torticill | Sacred Heart Univ (San Clemente, Calif.) |
| Malia | Tuli | Kent Crusaders, Wash. |
| Jania | Vandervoorde | Brown Univ (Dubai American Academy, UAE) |