USA Rugby Head Coach Emilie Bydwell and staff have named the squad heading to the iconic Kai Tak Sports Park in Hong Kong for the opening leg of the HSBC SVNS World Championships this Friday April 17 -19th.
This comes off the Eagles momentum built across the HSBC SVNS Series having most recently delivered standout performances at the final leg of the series in Vancouver and at home in New York City. The USA Women secured back to back 3rd place finishes in both North American stops to close out the Series ranking an overall 3rd place heading into the HSBC World Championships.
The USA Women come in as the top seed in Pool C seeing their opening match set against Spain, before taking on Argentina and closing out pool play against France.
Led by powerhouse and Captain Kristi Kirshe, the roster plays to the dynamic and edgy style the USA Women’s Eagles Sevens have been crafting all season. With the core roster remaining consistent, injury shifts see Spiff Sedrick returning with Su Adegoke unavailable. Karina Gauto is set to make her debut as Lilly Thomas is named as the traveling reserve.
Head Coach Emilie Bydwell commented;
“We are really proud of how effectively we switched gears heading into the two North American legs, which led to two podium finishes. The team responded really well to the change in tone, understanding that we needed to increase our accountability to the core behaviors that allow us to play the style of rugby we aspire to play and to live out our collective intentions on both sides of the ball.” “But, as belief in our group and playing philosophy continues to grow, we are also not satisfied. We know we are still very early in this journey, and there is so much potential in what is to come. So while we can be proud of our recent performances, our focus is on looking ahead to Hong Kong, attacking it one game at a time, and staying committed to getting 5% better in our key areas of focus.”
“Starting the series, we had a clear vision for how we wanted to play and how to maximize the strengths of our group. What’s been really exciting is seeing that vision come to life on the field, and how we’ve continued to build on that foundation. As a team, we’ve grown our understanding of the game we want to play and expanded our toolbox, which allows us to be more effective and adaptable under pressure. We’ve also seen how committing to expressing our physicality, alongside our principles of play in both attack and defense, is what truly brings our identity to life. Our focus now is on consistently delivering that from game to game as we head into Hong Kong.”
USA Women’s Eagles fans would have seen USA Sevens Eagles Cass Bargell, Erica Coulibaly and Hann Humphreys who made their debut for the Women’s 15s this past weekend in Sacramento, CA as the Eagles opened the Pacific Four Series against the Black Ferns. Also called up, Tessa Hann joins 15s side as they prepare to take on the Wallaroos in Kansas City as the Sevens Eagles kick off in Hong Kong Friday, April 17th,
USA fans can follow all the USA Women’s Eagles action live on Paramount+ this weekend.
| Player # | Player | Sevens Caps |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ariana Ramsey | 20 |
| 3 | Tahna Wilfley | 6 |
| 4 | Lilly Thomas* | Debut |
| 8 | Alex “Spiff” Sedrick | 24 |
| 10 | Karina Gauto* | Debut |
| 12 | Kristi Kirshe (C) | 36 |
| 13 | Sarah Levy | 19 |
| 15 | Rachel Strasdas | 13 |
| 19 | Kaylen Thomas | 10 |
| 22 | Sammy Sullivan | 21 |
| 26 | Ashley Cowdrey | 7 |
| 28 | Sariah Ibarra | 11 |
| 33 | Nalu Liufau | 2 |
| 99 | Autumn Czaplicki | 8 |
Pool C
Thursday, April 16th: USA v Spain - 10:53pm ET
Friday, April 17th:
USA v Argentina - 1:57am ET
USA v France - 9:53 pm ET
April 17 - 19 | Hong Kong
May 29 -31 | Valladolid
June 5 - 7 | Bordeaux
November 29 - 30 | Dubai - 5th Place
December 6 - 7 | Cape Town - 4th Place
January 31 - February 1 | Singapore - 4th Place
February 7 - 8 | Perth - 4th Place
March 7 - 8 | Vancouver - 3rd Pace
March 14 - 15 | NYC - 3rd Place
Emilie Bydwell | Head Coach
Tony Roques | Assistant Coach
Charlie Purdon | Technical & IDP Skills Coach
Ben Pinkelman | Support Coach
Lauren Barber | Performance Analyst
Trey Ford | Head of Athletic Performance
Ashley Morataya | Assistant S&C
Nicole Titmas | Head of Athlete Health & Wellness - 7s / Women's 7s Head ATC
Meghan Chambers | Rehab Specialist
Jackie Rodriguez | Athletic Trainer
Jacque Scaramella | Dietician
Peter Haberl | Sport Psychologist
Liz Strohecker | Head of High Performance Operations - 7s
Maria Adams | High Performance Operations Coordinator - 7s
