NCAA Rugby Programs Influence USA RWC Squad
NCAA Rugby Programs Influence USA RWC Squad
The effect if varsity NCAA programs is starting to be felt at the national level as the Women’s Rugby World Cup kicks off.
The USA team has three Harvard Rugby alumni on its roster, for example, with Maya Learned, Erica Jarrell, and Jenny Kronish suiting up.
Jarrell was co-captain of the team last season.
New addition to the NCAA ranks, Davenport, has former player Olivia Ortiz on the USA squad, and Ortiz is in fact still part of the Davenport coaching staff.
And in coaching there is another connection as many high-level women’s rugby players are coaches in their day jobs. Bridget Kahalie is an assistant coach at Brown University, for example, while the USA team’s Strength & Conditioning Coach, former Eagle Sylvia Braaten, is an assistant coach at at Harvard.
(Braaten could easily lace up the cleats if needed, too.)
This is already a significant influence through NCAA sports—and we haven’t even mentioned crossovers such as former Wisconsin hockey player Alev Kelter or players like Emily Henrich, who remained with Dartmouth to finish out her final season and final semester—and we will start to see more as the younger players grab national team spots in the coming few years.
What those players will bring to the USA team will be experience with a daily training environment as well as plenty of talent.
