For Immediate Release
April 20, 2009
Women Eagles Name Player Pool, Assemblies for 2009

BOULDER, Colo. - The U.S. Women’s National Team Head Coach Kathy Flores has officially named her player pool for the upcoming matches against Canada in June.

The USA Women’s National Team most recently gathered in February for a three-day camp in Florida, where the coaching staff was able to take a good look at the potential players. Having now named the sides, Flores won’t see her teams assemble again until June 19, when they arrive in Colorado.

The U.S. Women’s National Team will train for a week at the rugby complex in Glendale, Colo., before competing against the Canadian Women’s National Team on Saturday, June 27 at Glendale’s Infinity Park. The USA ‘A’ side, which arrives at the same time, will only have three days of training before their Infinity Park kick-off against Canada ‘A’ on Tuesday, June 23. Both matches will be played at 6 p.m. and tickets are just $15 for the match, or for groups buying 10 tickets, the 11 will be free!  Children under 12 get in free, as well. Click on http://usarugby.org/goto/usa_vs_canada to buy tickets online.

“This match is very important to our squad,” said Coach Flores. “We have yet to fully compete against Canada and we can wait no longer to prove we will be competitive in the next World Cup.  Though the squad may be young internationally, we do have veterans from the last World Cup (in 2006), who we will depend on to step up and provide the on-field leadership needed to secure a competitive contest against our rivals.”

USA ‘A’ Coach Martha Daines reiterated the importance of the match for the USA ‘A’ side, saying, “The ‘A’ match is an excellent opportunity for our developing players. We'll be building on the work we did at the development camp in February, continuing to focus on player's abilities to make decisions when under pressure as well as their ability to apply pressure to the opposition. The intensity and pace of the match should provide a great arena for developing these skills.”

Another bonus is that the two squads will get more opportunity to train alongside each other and continue to strengthen the connection between the two programs.  Providing the ‘A’ athletes with vital international experience is also a tremendous opportunity for them to make a strong case for inclusion in the squad for the 2010 WRWC.

“Players like Jillion Potter and Lynelle Kugler are strong, physical examples of the type of hard nosed rugby we must play for our future to be successful on the world stage,” Flores added. “We also have two players joining us from the Rugby World Cup Sevens, Amy Daniels and Christy Ringgenberg, and in order to allow them time to settle into international 15s and provide them some leadership opportunities, we have selected them for the A squad.  We look forward to their participation and look to their possible future with the Eagles going forward.”

The Can-Am matches in Colorado will be the first of five matches this summer, as the team kicks off its journey towards the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2010, which is held in England next August and September. The Women’s Eagles will see their remaining games in the Nations Cup in Toronto in August.

In addition to displaying the Eagles’ world-class rugby skills on the pitch, the June 27 match will give the team the opportunity to show their support for the Love/Avon Army of Women off the pitch. A moment of silence will be observed prior to the start of the match to honor those diagnosed with breast cancer and fans will have the opportunity meet and speak with Army of Women volunteers, as well as to sign up to support the initiative.  The Army of Women will give out free t-shirts to the first 200 women who sign up at the match. 

Please contact Alex Williams, Women’s HP Manager ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )for more information or to request sponsorship packages. 

USA Women’s Eagle Roster

• Sharon    Blaney    Beantown
• Claudia    Braymer    Albany
• Stephanie    Bruce    Berkeley All-Blues
• Jamie    Burke    Beantown
• Melanie    Denham    Beantown
• Farrah    Douglas    Chicago - North Shore
• Ashley    English    Berkeley All-Blues
• Victoria    Folayan    Berkeley All-Blues
• Blair    Groefsema    Berkeley All-Blues
• Melissa    Kanuk    Furies
• Ashley    Kmiecik    Emerald City Mudhens
• Lynelle    Kugler    Glendale
• Vanesha    McGee    New York
• San Juanita     Moreno    ORSU
• Elise    Myer    Northern Virginia (NOVA)
• Jillion    Potter    Univ NM
• Beckett    Royce    ORSU
• Lara    Vivolo    New York
• Kittery    Wagner    Beantown
• Maurin    Wallace    Beantown
• Sarah    Walsh    Chicago - North Shore
• Kristin    Zdanczewicz    MN Valkyries

USA Women’s ‘A’ Roster

• Stacy    Baker    Philadelphia Women
• Libby    Berg    MN Valkyries
• Ida    Bernstein    Keystone
• Stacey    Bridges    Texas A&M
• Anna    Brown    MN Valkyries (Actually Amazons...oops)
• Lisa    Butts    Davis Women
• Emilie    Bydwell    Beantown
• Brenna    Costello    Furies
• Kathleen    Daley    Penn State Univ
• Amy    Daniels    Beantown
• Liz    Dilley    Furies
• Katie    Dowty    Beantown
• Katy    Hertel    MN Valkyries
• Janay    Lake    Glendale
• Kristy    Lear    MN Valkyries
• Desiree    Markovich    MN Valkyries
• Ramey    Marshall    ORSU
• Jenny    Menke    MN Valkyries
• Christy    Ringgenberg    MN Valkyries
• Hannah    Stolba    MN Valkyries
• Katherine    Weber    Iowa State

About the Army of Women
USA Rugby's Women's National Team (WNT) proudly supports the Love/Avon Army of Women, a wonderful initiative working to enlist one million women to participate in breast cancer research. The WNT encourages our family, friends to visit the website http://www.armyofwomen.org and be part of this important effort.

About USA Rugby
USA RUGBY, founded in 1975, is the national governing body for rugby and is a member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and the International Rugby Board (IRB). The organization is responsible for the development of boys, girls, high school, collegiate and club athletic programs, and ultimately, all of the national teams representing the United States in international competition. For more information on USA Rugby, please visit
www.USARugby.org

Glendale’s Infinity Park
Opened in September 2007 with a 3,000-seat game-day capacity, Infinity Park is one of the only rugby-specific stadiums in the United States. Owned and operated by the City of Glendale, it is also home to the Division I Glendale Raptors Rugby Football Club, and boasts a state-of-the-art broadcast production facility (all home games are broadcast live on RugbyZone.com and also on Fox Sports Rocky Mountain), a natural grass turf system, and the Try Club, a uniquely-appointed pub-type clubhouse for players, VIP guests, and sponsors. The Infinity Park complex includes the Glendale Sports Center, a high-tech fitness center with a full range of cardio equipment, weight rooms, basketball court, and deluxe locker room facilities, and the new Infinity Park Event Center, featuring a virtual 360-degree video screen in the 800-seat International Ballroom, as well as smaller meeting rooms for training, board meetings, and conferences. For more information go to www.infinityparkatglendale.com.