2016 USA Rugby Club Women’s National Championship Results

Congratulations to the Seattle Saracens and Life West in their victories at the 2016 USA Rugby Club Women’s National Championships!

DII Championships

Life West faced off against reigning 2015 Champion Wisconsin on Saturday, June 4 at Infinity Park in Glendale, CO. In their first year of the competition, Life West upset Wisconsin 66-20 in a remarkable fashion.

Life West eventually put in an astounding 12 tries and it all started in the opening minute of the match. Wisconsin fought valiantly but was starved of possession and struggled to contain the power and pace of the Gladiatrixs.

Megan Foster, the match’s Most Valuable Player, credited Life West’s ability with ball in hand as well as reading the opposition as the team’s keys to victory.

“I think the first try really set the tone,” the AIG Women’s Collegiate All-American said. “We just feed off of that. Every game that we’ve scored early it’s just been non-stop. We just go with each other, kept it positive out there, and when we do that we’re pretty unstoppable.

“Wisconsin were definitely tough and had some hard hits. Credit to them for playing hard. But I think we did really well exploiting their weaknesses. We saw space wide, we used our hands to get it wide, had players cutting back in, read their hips; we came out and played our best.”

Life West Gladiatrix | Women’s DII National Championship

1. Tupou V Palu
2. Aubrey Huey
3. Catherine Benson
4. Megan Pinson
5. Rose Russell
6. Mele Taumoefolau
7. Tiara Littleton
8. Jennifer Sever
9. Lauren Kenyon
10. Megan Foster
11. Angelina Lomu
12. Andie Toetu’u
13. Hali Deters
14. Mirelle Raza
15. Cameo Motley
16. Sarah MacArthur
17. Moana Blandford
18. Vika Eli
19. Fane Eli
20. Alivia Picardo
21. Ilai’Saane Kefu-Teaupa
22. Jessica Lewis

Wisconsin | Women’s DII National Championship

1. Sarah Thomas
2. Emily Mastandrea
3. Melissa Polheber
4. Brittany Aprahamian
5. Jill Lehmann
6. Samantha Clevenger
7. Lauren McCormack
8. Grace Hovde
9. Kristine Peterson
10. Jennifer Johnson
11. Felicia Carlson
12. Shannon Walsh
13. Ashley Shaw
14. Justine Wypych
15. Sybil Levine
16. Sarah Pinkston
17. Katie Klas
18. Alayna Hronek
19. Corin Jensen
20. Callie Graves
21. Kimberly Gilmore
23. Tamara Wade
24. Cecilia Smith

See all the results leading up to the finals, 2016 USA Rugby Club Playoffs.

DI Championships

In another thrilling affair, the Seattle Saracens defeated Chicago North Shore 36-19 to retain their USA Rugby Club Women’s National Championship. Also played on June 4, at Infinity Park in Glendale, CO, the champs went up early as they capitalized on Chicago NS penalties to go up 9-0.

From there it was a fancy affair from Seattle, scoring while having a player advantage (Alexandra Borowski of Chicago NS was  binned for repeated infringements) and then Kristine Sommer scored off a sweet behind-the-back pass from Ashley Kmiecik.

Chicago wasn’t all quiet though as they used their powerful forwards to drive over two tries, putting them at 26-19 with time to play.

Seattle coach Tim Zern feared a tie as Chicago had the momentum but Seattle pulled away in the final minutes to win, 36-19.

Most Valuable Player was given to Seattle’s Chelsey Sveinsson. “Chelsey’s a special player, and a special person, as well,” Zern said of his No. 8. “She went through a lot of adversity to come to us, it was difficult for her to get settled, but we took good care of her. She played a lot of rugby this year and got a lot better; she’s a talent.

“She’s a very impressive player with a great mentality and great temperament off the pitch.”

Seattle Saracens | Women’s DI National Championship

1. Marty Quick
2. Uche Esonu
3. Rachel Reddick
4. Nova Riemer
5. Elizabeth Gay
6. Rose Baker
7. Emily Alonzo
8. Chelsey Sveinsson
9. Caroline White
10. Kati Ehly
11. Carly MacKinnon
12. Kristine Sommer
13. Mackenzie Garrett
14. Ashley Kmiecik
15. Megan Jansky-Bingel
16. Samantha Fisher
17. Marianne Mork
18. Emily Vyhnanek
19. Kala Clanton
20. Zahra Young
21. Elena Cantorna
22. Lauren Barber
23. Kelsi Stockert

Chicago North Shore | Women’s DI National Championship

1. Kadie Sanford
2. Nobuko Takaki
3. Charli Jacoby
4. Claire Herdeman
5. Lani Larson
6. Linda Guiney
7. Brittany Klimek
8. Christiane Pheil
9. Elizabeth Bristow
10. Lauren Trout
11. Gabrielle Whittinghill
12. Kathleen Stanley
13. Kelsey Reed
14. Betty Nguyen
15. Alexandra Borowsky
16. Kathryn McCabe
17. Rose Dibalsamo
18. Colleen Canniff
19. Joy Tull
20. Yuliana Garcia
21. Amanda Gagliano
22. Sarah Pfander
23. Amy Martello

See all the results leading up to the finals, 2016 USA Rugby Club Playoffs.