Kicking off the New Year, USA Rugby Women\u2019s pathways players get to business at winter camp with 40 of the top USA Under 20 players in Charlotte, North Carolina for a 5-day talent-ID camp.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
With the focus on forging future Eagles as the the next Women\u2019s Rugby World Cup cycle begins, the camp will work towards selection for age grade international Tests in South Africa later this summer while allowing coaches to identify stand out talent, work rate and team building characteristics required of players looking to elevate their game to the senior level.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Head Women\u2019s Pathways Coach, Katie Dowty commented;\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis winter camp was set to identify and prepare athletes for this summer\u2019s U20 competition in Stellenbosch, South Africa, while also evaluating players’ potential to transition into the senior national pool as a new World Cup cycle begins. Camp will accelerate international readiness by embedding the mental skills, behaviors, and performance standards — alongside the physical, technical, and tactical demands — required of being an Eagle.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWinter camp will establish individual baselines and cement the foundations of the U20 XV Program for 2026. Consistent communication and collaboration between players, pathways staff, and the athletes in their daily training environments will be critical to ensuring measurable progress.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will be assessing and communicating key strengths and work-ons for each athlete at this point in the year, and provide clarity on international standards and create action plans for winter and spring in players\u2019 home training environments allowing us to close gaps and amplify their superpowers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis player group is full of athletic potential and will be encouraged to fully express themselves on the field, expanding our ability to apply sustained, creative pressure on both sides of the ball.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Under 20 women in this camp will be eligible for selection for the USA Tour to\u00a0 Stellenbosch, South Africa, this July where they will play two matches against the South Africa U20s. As well as give athletes the opportunity to showcase their talent for potential to be key contributors building towards the 2029 & 2033 Rugby World Cups.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2026 U20 WXV Winter Camp Invitees<\/p>\n
Name Team Natalie Allen Frostburg State University Rebecca Balladeres Quinnipiac University Kaylie Castro La Salle University Evie Danhof Lindenwood University Kiyanah Edwards American International College Nevaeh Elliott Life University Ella Elordi Eagle Lady Mustangs Jasmine Fehoko Lindenwood University Sahryse Fong Hawaii Arielle Fotso Dartmouth College Olivia Frisby Life University Cora Haughey Life University Annie Henrich Dartmouth College Alyssa Hine Brigham Young University Liliani Hopoate American International College Maddie Hubbell Harvard University Amenekina Latu Life University Kirsten Lees Stanford University Sana’a Lunon Harvard University Mele Mausia San Mateo Wolverines Jojo Mignone Harvard University Ariane Moea’i Utah Cannibals Reece Moody Dartmouth College Nakato Myers Raleigh Rugby Cobras Gemma Ogoke Harvard University Khalea Pahulu Lindenwood University Alyssa Post La Salle University Juliette Robinson Georgetown University Cece Rose Life University Alaina Sandberg Raleigh Rugby Cobras Seq\u2019hiya Simmons University of Lethbridge Aleina Teaupa Sac AIRugby Alilia Tu’itavake Life University Ana Tu’itavake Portland Grackles Salote (Lala) Valikoula Pasifeka Gianna Veetutu Kent Crusaders HS Annabella Vogel Life University Dorothy Vunipola Life University Jennie Weiner Lindenwood University Lola Unga Lindenwood University <\/p>\n
2026 U20 WXV Winter Camp Coaches & Staff<\/p>\n
Katie Dowty | Head Coach<\/p>\n
Kate Daley | Assistant Coach<\/p>\n
Karameli Faaee | Assistant Coach<\/p>\n
Catie Benson | Assistant Coach<\/p>\n
Blake Bradford | Coaching Advisor<\/p>\n
Kristin Zdanczewicz | S&C<\/p>\n
Luke Richmond | Analyst<\/p>\n
Mia Pelton | Athletic Trainer<\/p>\n
Martha Daines | Head of Player Systems and Development\u00a0<\/p>\n
Aiyana Gilliard | Team Services Manager<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kicking off the New Year, USA Rugby Women\u2019s pathways players get to business at winter camp with 40…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":392123,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85,209813],"class_list":{"0":"post-392122","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-rugby","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-usa-womens-u20-and-u23"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=392122"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392122\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/392123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=392122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=392122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=392122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}