U20 Women Picked for Canada Trip
U20 Women Picked for Canada Trip
The WJAAs lost twice in four matches at Nations Cup last year – both at the hands of Canada. Gabriella Cantorna is the only returning player from the competition selected for the 2014 tour, though Maya Learned was a non-traveling reserve for Danielle Miller’s squad.
“From last year’s Nations Cup we did have a large percentage of the players age out of the program,” the head coach said. “We’re almost on a two-year cycle with the Nations Cup being every other year as our big event, so we keep an eye on that when we are looking at players’ eligibility. We use these kind of ‘off years’ as an opportunity to get some more experience for some of the younger players so that we will have an experienced squad when we go to Nations Cup next year.”
Following the regional camps at the University of Northern Colorado and James Madison University, Miller was able to attend the Stars and Stripes Camp in July. In 2013, she missed the inaugural Camp due to Nations Cup.
Ten of the 26 players named to the WJAA tour squad attended this year’s Camp, while 14 in all have attended one or both of the high school events. The athletes in Greeley ranged from the ages of 15 to 18, perfect for selection to the WJAAs.
“I was very lucky to be a part of Stars and Stripes this year and I used that as a selection tool,” Miller said. “Being able to see some of the younger players that have not come up through the ranks any other way was a great opportunity and we took full advantage of that by inviting several of the players.”
Most of the players selected from Stars and Stripes will be eligible for next year’s Nations Cup, while others, like 15-year-old Lilly Durbin, will be too young for the tournament.
“[Lilly will] be too young still, but we’ll use the tour as a developmental opportunity for her to be able to get more international experience,” Miller said. “It will help her in her rugby career, because she’s got great potential.”
Other players, like Ashlee Byrge, Mata Hingano, Hedvig Karlsson, and Fina Toetu’u, have taken the opportunity to train in a high performance environment at the Stars and Stripes Camps, and Miller is offering the next step in the pathway.
“Our overall goal is to look at all of the players who are selected to participate in the tour and to hopefully grow their understanding of the game and their decision-making,” Miller said.
“Players who were selected will get more of an opportunity to work on those skills, however, we’re still going to be looking at the players that did not get selected next year for Nations Cup. We hope that there’s a very competitive pool of players who are all going to be working really hard this next year to make it onto that touring squad for Nations Cup.”
USA Rugby AIG Women's Junior All-Americans | Under-20 Women's Can-Am Series
Bridget Amoako (University of Pennsylvania)
Ashlee Byrge (Herriman High School, Utah)
Gabriella Cantorna (Penn State)
Kyla Chipman (Penn State)
Gioanna Cruz (American International College, Mass.)
Sheila Decker (VRYA, Vt.)
Lilly Durbin (Fallbrook High School, Calif.)
Frieda Fetuu (Women Vipers, Utah)
Elizabeth Groff (West Chester University, Pa.)
Melissa Louise Hargadine (Minnesota State University)
McKenzie Hawkins (Maryville Rugby Football Club, Tenn.)
Mata Hingano (Danville Oaks High School, Calif.)
Hedvig Karlsson (Provo High School, Utah)
Brianna Kim (University of Virginia)
Maya Learned (Glendale Raptors, Colo.)
Katie Mueller (Penn State)
Etta MyLau (Women Vipers, Utah)
Azniv G Nalbandian (Phillips Exeter Academy, NH)
Danielle Ordway (Davenport University, Mich.)
Nikki Richardson (Stanford University, Calif.)
Ashley Rolsma (Kent Crusaders, Wash.)
Fina Toetu'u (Danville Oaks, Calif.)
Abby Ellen Vogel (University of California)
Hope Wasserman (Severn River Womens Rugby Club, Md.)
Caitlin Whiteside (University of California)
Adriana Zeiders (West Chester University, Pa.)
USA Rugby AIG Women's Junior All-Americans | Coaching Staff
Danielle Miller - Head Coach
Kelly Seary - Assistant Coach
Wil Snape - Assistant Coach
Mark Smith - Assistant Coach
Katie Wurst - Manager
Bri Arsenault - Trainer
See Alex Goff's video interview with Danielle Miller about her scouting and selections process.
