CHULA VISTA, CA. - 38 athletes have been named to the new Women's Eagles (15s) 2019 Performance Squad, USA Rugby announced today.

The Performance Squad serves as the top tier of a new player pool structure, to be announced at the beginning of each year and remain equivalent in status across both the Women's and Men's Eagles (15s) sides. Both programs will include an Extended Squad within their player pool -- which sits junior to the top tier -- while the Women's National Team will also have a third tier called the Watchlist.

Players who sit in the Women’s Extended Squad and Watch list represent athletes who show potential to reach the main Performance tier over time. Each of the three groups within the player pool will receive attention and support from Women's High Performance with accountability and resources most heavily attributed to the top Performance tier.

Additionally, to give athletes more opportunities to compete internationally, Women's High Performance will integrate its sevens and fifteens programs by allowing Women's Sevens players a chance to be selected for fifteens competitions. Athletes in the Women's Sevens Residency Program will be considered an extension of the Women's Eagles Performance Squad, with the goal of helping players cross into the fifteens program earlier in the 2021 World Cup cycle.

As a core piece in the new Road to 2021 Campaign for the Women's National Team, the tiered structure provides athletes with much-needed transparency on where they stand within the larger setup of the program.

The Women's Eagles 2019 Performance Squad features 21 forwards and 17 backs with 10 players still seeking their first cap.

General Manager for Women's High Performance, Emilie Bydwell said: "Rob and staff have worked hard to create the necessary depth charts for the Women's 15s program at the senior and age-grade levels. These have allowed us to form critical tiers within our playing group and better understand what our current playing group looks like now, versus what it could look like in two and a half years at Rugby World Cup. Announcing and supporting a Performance Squad annually will increase transparency, clarity and inter-competition allow us to best maximize our support structures and resources. Having a clear vision on how each tier of our senior player pool, age-grade groups and sevens residents interact, operate and continue to develop is critical. Developing a fully functional ecosystem that encompasses all of these layers has been a real priority for us."

Women's Eagles Head Coach Rob Cain said: "This announcement shows exciting times for the Women's 15s Program with many more announcements to follow. This continues to show our determination in demonstrating how clear, transparent and supportive we are with our approach as a program. Through our tiered player pools and yearly calendar, we give everyone an equal opportunity with lots of platforms to pursue their dream of being an Eagle.

This inner competition and accountability will really allow the players to not only drive their playing ambitions but also keep everything contextual; allowing them to showcase themselves on a regular basis in the environment we create."

For more information about the Women's National Team's Road to 2021 Campaign, visitusarug.by/W15to2021.

Women’s Eagles 2019 Performance Squad

Player Name	Position	Club	Caps
Sui Aa'u	Center	Central Washington University	0
Tiana Aa'u	Prop	Central Washington University	1
Tiara Aa'u	Prop	Central Washington University	0
Katy Augustyn	Hooker	Berkeley All Blues	33
Bui Baravilala	Centre	Berkeley All Blues	6
Catie Benson	Prop	Life West Gladiatrix	17
Stacey Bridges	Second Row	Beantown Rugby	36
Katherine Broughton	Back Three	Atlanta Harlequins	3
Bitsy Cairns	Back Row	Life West Gladiatrix	8
Gabby Cantorna	Flyhalf	Glendale Merlins	3
Jeannine Duncan	Back Three	Seattle Saracens	2
Megan Foster	Fullback	San Diego Surfers	6
Misha Green	Back Row	New York Rugby	0
McKenzie Hawkins	Flyhalf	Lindenwood University	3
Emily Henrich	Center	Dartmouth College	2
Evan Hoese	Wing	Berkeley All Blues	2
Katana Howard	Flyhalf	Twin City Amazons	0
Nick James	Prop	Houston Athletic	6
Bailey Johnson	Second Row	Twin City Amazons	0
Katie Johnson	Back Row	Twin City Amazons	0
Rachel Johnson	Back Row	Oregon Sports Union	3
Joanna Kitlinski	Hooker	Glendale Merlins	8
Courtney Kuehl	Centre	Atlanta Harlequins	0
Bulou Mataitoga	Fullback	Berkeley All Blues	0
Azniv Nalbandian	Prop	Penn State University	3
Mary Jane Pasioles	Halfback	Central Washington University	0
Christiane Pheil	Back Row	Atlanta Harlequins	8
Kat Ramage	Half Back	Dartmouth College	0
Megan Rom	Prop	Life University	2
Kimber Rozier	Center	Beantown Rugby	30
Kristine Sommer	Second Row	Harlequins / Seattle Saracens	7
Kelsi Stockert	Back Three	Unattached	8
McKenna Strong	Second Row	Lindenwood University	1
Finau Tamaivena	No 8	Seattle Saracens	1
Joyce Taufa	Hooker	Lindenwood University	3
Alycia Washington	Second Row	New York Rugby	17
Carly Waters	Halfback	New York Rugby	2
Kate Zackary (C)	Back Row	San Diego Surfers	9

 

Women’s Eagles 2019 Staff

General Manager of Women’s HP | Emilie Bydwell

Head Coach | Rob Cain

Assistant Coach | Richard Ashfield

Assistant Coach | Kate Daley

Assistant Coach | Jamie Burke

Assistant Coach & Athlete Mentor | Jenny Lui

Head of Physical Performance | Ian Jones

Head Performance Analyst | David Gardner

Head Athletic Trainer | Bri Sparks

Assistant Athletic Trainer | Katherine Henry

Team Doctor | Terrence Cronin

Women’s HP Operations Manager | Liz Strohecker

 

Women’s Eagles Tiered Player Pool

1. Performance Squad + 7s Residency

2. Extended Squad

3. Watch List

 

Women’s Eagles Age-Grade Pathway

• High School All-Americans

• Junior All-Americans

• Collegiate All-Americans