Lindenwood University loose forward Freda Tafuna has won the MA Sorensen Award for the second year in a row.
The first multiple winner of the award, Tafuna was a unanimous choice by the Sorensen Award selection committee.
The MA Sorensen Award is given to the best woman collegiate rugby player in the USA, and this is the 10th year of the award, which is presented and sponsored by the Washington Athletic Club in Seattle, Wash.
Of the nine women who have won the award, six are playing in this weekend’s USA vs Canada test match.
Two others played Rugby 7s in the Olympics for the USA, and one is not eligible for the USA as she is Canadian.
Tafuna joins Hope Rogers, Ilona Maher, McKenzie Hawkins, Emily Henrich, and Keia Mai Sagapolu in the USA lineup to face Canada.
It is enormously difficult to win the Sorensen Award twice in a row, injuries, a change in a team’s fortunes, or even just bad luck can get in the way. For Tafuna, she not only was able to stay fairly healthy but she raised her game. A defensive powerhouse and offensive terror, Tafuna became a more sophisticated player on attack. She also took on new responsibilities, kicking for goal and throwing in at the lineouts, and at the same time her team improved, winning the D1A (D1 Elite) final over Life this season, something they didn’t do last year.
