SALT LAKE CITY – Ninety-six young players arrived on the campus of University of Utah Tuesday ahead of the USA Rugby All-American Stars and Stripes Camp. [Lead Photo: Rugby Oregon]
Based on age, players will first be divided into Junior All-American (under-20) and Collegiate All-American (under-23) teams – Stars and Stripes – for matches Thursday, June 30, and Saturday, July 2. Coaches, including Dartmouth Head Coach Katie Dowty and Central Washington Head Coach Mel Denham, will scout athletes during the first match for potential reorganization of the teams for the second set of matches.
Following the Camp, an AIG Women’s Collegiate All-Americans squad will be selected by Head Coach Sue Whitwell for two matches against Canada’s Maple Leafs development side at Regional Athletic Complex. Both matches – Tuesday, July 5, and Saturday, July 9 – will serve as curtain raisers to the second and third match days of the Women’s Rugby Super Series, featuring the Women’s Eagles, Canada, England, and France. Whether invited to Camp as a Junior or Collegiate All-American representative, players may earn their place with the age-grade national team in the Stars and Stripes matches.
Along with Denham and Dowty, New York Rugby Club Head Coach James English and Denver Black Ice Head Coach Jon Mooney will lead the Collegiate and Junior sides, respectively, throughout the week. Assistant coaches Evi Ashenbrucker, Sharon Blaney, Bernie Cantorna, and Kelly Seary have all attended past national team assemblies as part of the Training and Education Pathway, and will work with Whitwell and AIG Women’s Junior All-American Head Coach Wil Snape to improve the players’ understanding of this level of play as well as their own coaching abilities.
Central Washington’s Asinate Serevi was a member of the WJAA team that defeated Canada’s under-20s twice last year, and was selected to the senior assembly at University of Utah this week. Several Wildcat teammates, as well as representatives from D1 Elite schools Brigham Young, Life, Lindenwood, Penn State, and Stanford, are in attendance at the Stars and Stripes Camp.
Selections for the WCAAs facing Canada’s Maple Leafs will be announced at the culmination of Camp. The July 5 and 9 matches will be broadcast live on The Rugby Channel from Regional Athletic Complex.
Stars & Stripes Camp Rosters
Junior All-Americans | Stars and Stripes
Hannah Austin – Denison University
Morelia Ayala – Chico State
Lizzie Bellis – University of Wisconsin
Olivia Bernadel-Huey – Stanford University
Kayla Canett – Fallbrook (Calif.)
Amber Chandu – NYRC
Rachel Elson – Vassar College
Allison Gallagher – Eckerd College
Akilah Guzman – Kennesaw State University
Moriah Halteman – Fresno State
Shayla Heagy – Indiana University
Sisileti Hingano – BYU
Atumata Hingano – Danville (Calif.)
Seini Ieremia – United (Utah)
Katelina Kaaihue-Afalava – At Large
Cynthia Kelly – Life University
Kimaada Kiongozi – University of Southern California
Paulina Las – Lindenwood University
Hannah Lewandowski – Central Washington University
Taylor Makowski – Northside Dragons (Colo.)
Daisy Manoa – Danville (Calif.)
Joanna Moreira – Central Washington University
Michel Navarro – Fallbrook (Calif.)
Maryjane Pasioles – Sacramento Amazons
Annakaren Pedraza – Lindenwood University
Neariah Persinger – Lindenwood University
Tiffany Person – Lindenwood University
Emily Prentice – Kent (Wash.)
Demi-Lee Pretorius – NYRC
Sisilia Puaka – Belmont Shore
Sophie Pyrz – Penn State
Katherine Ramage – Dartmouth College
Megan Reilly – Bloomsburg University
Becca Jane Rosko – Summit (Colo.)
Emily Roskopf – Quinnipiac University
Alexandria Sedrick – Herriman (Utah)
Addilyn Sorensen – United (Utah)
Cassiane Stevens – University of Colorado
Clare Sullivan – Tulane University
Lia Tauililli – Lindenwood University
Kristina Tomelloso – Saint Mary’s College
Danielle Walko Siua – Notre Dame College
Caitlin Weigel – Harvard University
Whitney Wilson – Life University
Emma Workman – BYU
Junior All-Americans Coaches | Stars and Stripes
Katie Dowty – Head Coach
Evi Ashenbrucker – Assistant Coach
Jon Mooney – Head Coach
Bernie Cantorna – Assistant Coach
Collegiate All-Americans | Stars and Stripes
Nicole Benedetti – Brandywine Riot
Madeline Brenner – Tulane University
Kaitlyn Broughton – Life University
Sarah Buonopane – Beantown
Ashlee Byrge – Davenport University
Gabriella Cantorna – Penn State
Chelsey Cobler – Eastern Kentucky University
Allyson Day – Norwich University
Sheila Decker – Norwich University
Amanda Divich – Lindenwood University
Brenna Donahue – Davenport University
Lanoira Duhart – Winona State University
Yejadai Dunn – Dartmouth College
Allison Dykes – Little Rock Stormers
Frieda Fetu’u – Berkeley All Blues
Tess Feury – Penn State
Emily Fulbrook – Scion
Summer Harris-Jones – University of Virginia
McKenzie Hawkins – Lindenwood University
Rebekah Hebdon – BYU
Katana Howard – Twin Cities Amazons
Kayla Hunkin-Clark – AIC
Leah Ingold – Central Washington University
Jennifer Johnson – Central Washington University
Bailey Johnson – Minnesota Valkyries
Bridget Kahele – AIC
Hannah Lange – Western Oregon University
Maya Learned – Harvard University
Emily Lessner – Virginia Tech University
Jessica Lewis – Life West
Katherine Loughran – University of Notre Dame
Darian Lovelace – Life University
Irayda Macedo – San Diego Surfers
Ilona Maher – Quinnipiac University
Etta Mailau – Vipers
Hunter Moreland – Davenport University
Azniv Nalbandian – Penn State
Madison Ohmann – Life University
Uzoamaka Okoro – Brown University
Danielle Ordway – Davenport University
Taylah Pipkin – Penn State
Megan Rom – Life University
Elizabeth Rose – Penn State
Francesca Sands – Norwich University
Haley Schafer – Central Washington University
Megan Shalvis – University of Nevada-Reno
Carly Waters – Penn State
Collegiate All-American Coaches | Stars and Stripes
Mel Denham – Head Coach
Kelly Seary – Assistant Coach
James English – Head Coach
Sharon Blaney – Assistant Coach
Coaching Staff | Stars and Stripes
Sue Whitwell – AIG Women’s Collegiate All-American Head Coach
Wil Snape – AIG Women’s Junior All-American Head Coach
Rick Humm – Coaching Advisor
Frederic Bardot – Coaching Advisor
Kristin Zdanczewicz – Strength and Conditioning
Michael Souders – Strength and Conditioning
Katherine Henry – Physiotherapist
Itsuko Yamaguchi – Physiotherapist
Amie Kern – Physiotherapist
Gage Berry – Physiotherapist
Annemarie Farrell – Manager
Lance Pruett – Manager
Jeff Horton – Manager
Match Schedule | Stars and Stripes
(all matches located at Regional Athletic Complex)
WCAA Stars v Stripes – Thursday, June 30 @ 11 a.m. MT
WJAA Stars v Stripes – Thursday, June 30 @ 2 p.m. MT
WCAA Stars v Stripes – Saturday, July 2 @ 9:30 a.m. MT
WJAA Stars v Stripes – Saturday, July 2 @ 11:30 a.m. MT
AIG WCAA v Maple Leafs – Tuesday, July 5 @ 1 p.m. MT
AIG WCAA v Maple Leafs – Saturday, July 9 @ 11 a.m. MT