Youth Aids Nationals-Bound 7s Teams
Youth Aids Nationals-Bound 7s Teams
The 7s season is nearly over – except for the 16 women’s teams advancing to next weekend’s Club 7s Championship. All but one team are propelled by senior players, but there’s a smattering of college players, and even high schoolers, who will be helping women’s teams in Des Moines, Iowa, Aug. 8-9.
The youngest team in attendance will be ICEF, which is composed almost entirely of college players. The SoCal runner-up returns for its second tournament in as many years, and is led by Cal senior Lauren Butler. She’s a hard, smart flyhalf, and complimented by Lindenwood transfer Jennese Bacon at scrumhalf. Soon-to-be sophomores Elona Williams was name UC Irvine’s Player of the Year; Domonique White is a fast prop from Humboldt State; and Domonique Bellinger circulated her name during UC Riverside’s DII championship run. The tricky center is joined by Highlander seniors Marjau Sauve-Meneses and Tishani Finnikin.
ICEF is one of a few teams sporting a current high school player, and View Park High School senior Nia Toliver is quite the pick-up. The All American A highlight is Nia Toliver, a senior at View Park High School. The All American is such a weapon in 7s and will surely test her superiors at nationals.
Fellow High School All American Emily Roskopf has been playing with Life West, a new program in Hayward, Calif., near her hometown Pleasanton Cavaliers. She’s playing alongside Walleroo Cheryl McAfee and 7s Eagle Irene Gardner, among many other talented players (including 2014 championship MVP Nia Williams) and soaking up all that expert knowledge.
“The caliber of play is much higher than the high school level and much higher than the All American experience,” Roskopf wrote. “Regarding McAfee, she's invaluable to the team and brings great coaching and guidance on and off the field. She's a technical expert and plays with incredible passion and aggression. Coach [Adriaan] Ferris is an amazing coach who has put together a very talented team of women, and I am very lucky to be a part of it.”
Several former Berkeley stars moved to Life West this summer, but the All Blues held onto a solid cast of Cal and Stanford collegians to bolster the ranks. The Golden Bears’ Jessica Lewis is a familiar entity, and she’s joined by fellow Cal All Americans Rose Russell and Stacy Wong. The Cardinal has sent Chelsey Harris and Esther Melton, and while it’s uncertain how many of these players will make the final squad, they are top-level college players who undoubtedly push the pace at training.
Also a leader on the college scene, Anne Peterson has been helping the Seattle Saracens to tournament wins this summer. The Eagle from Washington State is joined by former Cougar teammate Emma Knapp, who is transferring to Lindenwood, and Central Washington star Nate Serevi. Kent has sent over high school senior and All American Emily Prentice, who has had an especially busy summer. She attended the June NASC in Virginia, recent Women Junior All American (WJAA) selection camp in Greeley, Colo., and is now traveling to Des Moines as a reserve (she might also get picked for the Can Am series on Aug. 19-22).
“I feel really lucky that I've had the opportunity to play and learn from such an experienced and talented group of women rugby players,” Prentice reported. “They have been very welcoming and helped improve my game massively. As well, both the NASC and last week’s WJAA camp were great experiences for me with the competition there and the excellent coaching. For me, the everyday experience with the Saracens and the NASC/WJAA assemblies have allowed me to play a ton of rugby this summer and improve as a player.”
New York’s most advantageous acquisition is arguably Chelsey Sveinsson, a recent Stanford grad who was one of our favorite players to watch in 2015. She’s on the East Coast for an internship, while developing her game at the NASC and Northeast Academy. Boston picked up a good addition in Boston University player Paige Stathopoulos, another NASC attendee and Academy member. And the Hawaii Harlequins, which is the first stand-alone women’s team to represent the state at nationals, has Kylie Courtney, who gets her regular rugby at St. Andrew’s in Scotland.
NOVA always draws a lot of great college talent, and if recent West Chester grad Nicole Benedetti makes the cut, then she'll be one to watch on game day. MAC champion Scion has attracted the likes Maggie Myles and Saskia Morgan, from Quinnipiac and Brown, respectively, and they slot in nicely with an Eagle-populated roster.
Raoul Besse combines his two teams – Orlando Women and University of Central Florida – every summer, and 18-year-old flyer Jessica Warner, Jacqueline Edge, and Rachel Mederos are all UCF highlights. The ARPTC hasn’t released its travel squad yet, but it has GHSAAs Kat Ramage (Dartmouth commit) and Morgan Courtney (Lindenwood commit), Ally Day (Norwich), and Jessica Lu (Princeton) in residence down in Little Rock, Ark., right now.
That’s a lot of young talent to follow in Des Moines next weekend, so be sure to tune in.
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