USA Rugby Eagles released their roster for the Women’s Rugby World Cup and it is EXCELLENT.
The USA Eagles are going into the Rugby World Cup ranked 7th look to have a roster that will push to move up the rankings during the Women’s Rugby World Cup. This maybe the Eagles most athletic roster, and this list of sites are giving solid odds for the Eagles.
This 28 woman roster will be lead by Pete Steinberg, longtime Penn State head coach. Steinberg will have a experienced staff of assistant coaches in Richie Walker, USA Rugby Women’s 7s Head Coach, Peter Baggetta, head coach of high school rugby powerhouse Gonzaga High School, Liz Kirk, head coach for the Seattle Saracens, and Richard Ashfield, head coach for Stanford Men’s Rugby and former coach for Beantown Women’s rugby and Boston Irish Wolfhounds.
The players roster has a healthy mix of veteran and young talent. This roster is headlined by a number of USA Women’s Rugby Sevens team members such as, Naya Tapper, Kris Thomas, Cheta Emba, Alev Kelter, Jessica Javelet, and Nicole Heavirland. They Sevens players aren’t the only exciting selections to watch, Alycia Washington, Kimber Rozier, and the return of Devin Owsiany, have been selected to the squad. Washington has been a long time star for the NYAC women’s team, and a long resume of knowledge in the sport. Rozier will be returning for her second Rugby World Cup. Owsiany is a former USA Rugby Sevens player who was part of the team for the 2013 Women’s Sevens RWC and the 2012 roster. Balancing out all that experience, the roster adds college phenoms in Kayla Canett from Penn State, and Annakaren Pedraza from Lindenwood.
“With an experienced squad in 2014, we knew we had to get younger for this World Cup,” Steinberg said. “The shortened cycle has made getting so many players the experience they need challenging. This is a group that will need to grow through the tournament to be able to play at our top potential. It is exciting, though, to see so many players going to Ireland that will be eligible in 2021.”
The Women’s Rugby World Cup in Ireland kicks off August 9th, and ends August 26th. The Eagles will face off in pool play against Italy on August 9th, Spain on August 13th, and England August 17th.
USA Women’s Eagles | Women’s Rugby World Cup 2017
| Name | Club/School |
|---|---|
| Kathryn Augustyn | Berkeley All Blues |
| Catherine Benson | Life West |
| Sylvia Braaten | Twin Cities Amazons |
| Stacey Bridges | Twin Cities Amazons |
| Kayla Canett | Pennsylvania State University |
| Cheta Emba | Women’s Eagles Sevens |
| Tiffany Faaee | New York Rugby Club |
| Jordan Gray | Life West |
| Abby Gustaitis | Northern Virginia Rugby |
| Nicole Heavirland | Women’s Eagles Sevens |
| Nicole James | Houston Athletic Rugby Club |
| Jessica Javelet | Women’s Eagles Sevens |
| Alev Kelter | Women’s Eagles Sevens |
| Deven Owsiany | San Diego Surfers |
| Samantha Pankey | San Diego Surfers |
| Sara Parsons | Northern Virginia Rugby |
| Annakaren Pedraza | Lindenwood University |
| Christiane Pheil | Chicago North Shore |
| Naima Reddick | Seattle Saracens |
| Jamila Reinhardt | San Diego Surfers |
| Hope Rogers | San Diego Surfers |
| Kimber Rozier | Scion Sirens |
| Kristine Sommer | Seattle Saracens |
| Naya Tapper | Women’s Eagles Sevens |
| Kristen Thomas | Women’s Eagles Sevens |
| Alycia Washington | New York Rugby Club |
| Jess Wooden | Aylesford Rugby Club |
| Kate Zackary | San Diego Surfers |
USA Women’s Eagles | Women’s Rugby World Cup 2017 Coaching Staff
Pete Steinberg – Head Coach
Peter Baggetta – Associate Head Coach
Richie Walker – Assistant Coach
Liz Kirk – Assistant Coach
Richard Ashfield – Assistant Coach
Ian Gibbons – Head of Physical Performance
Katie Gloyer – Physician
Michelle Look – Physician
Amy Valenta – Physiotherapist
Sarah Leslie – Physiotherapist
Bri Arsenault – Physiotherapist
Caitlin Singletary – Video Analyst
Julie Sutcliffe – Sports Psychologist
Amie Kern – Assistant Manager & Massage Therapist
Roshna Wunderlich – Manager
USA Women’s Eagles | Women’s Rugby World Cup 2017
v. Italy – Wednesday, Aug. 9 @ 11:30 a.m. ET
v. Spain – Sunday, Aug. 13 @ 9:45 a.m. ET
v. England – Thursday, Aug. 17 @ 9:30 a.m. ET
Semifinals – Tuesday, Aug. 22
Finals – Saturday, Aug. 26