Running out for all Highwomen - past, present, and future - the USA Women’s Eagles Sevens brought the 2008 Hong Kong Sevens Champion squad inside the stadium by honoring the team that paved the way, by stitching their squad names on these 2026 Jerseys.
The USA Women went 2 for 3 in pool play advancing to take on Canada in the Quarter Finals. A defeat from their North American neighbors landed the USA Women in the 5th Place Play Off against Japan where they clinched a bittersweet 24-19 win over Japan while introducing a new Highwoman of their own 2026 squad in Karina Gauto’s debut.
Playing at the iconic Kai Tak Sports Park in Hong Kong for the opening leg of the HSBC SVNS World Championships the USA Women came off a productive HSBC SVNS Series where they finished 3rd on the table and seeded at the top of their Pool C.
While the podium target for these World Championships fell short, Head Coach, Emilie Bydwell, is still confident her team is on track to bounce back up the rankings next stop. She commented,
“Our goal is the podium for these events. We did the job on day one to go 2 and 0, but on day two, we didn't deliver on the win we needed in the quarterfinals. Even though we fell short though, what's really important is we had the opportunity to either play new athletes in a quarterfinal that we hadn't before or play players in new roles under that pressure. “We did quite a bit of work leading into it to prepare for the pressure of the quarterfinal but it’s one of those things we've just got to learn through doing. Canada's a very good team and we needed to bring a better performance against them. So to experience that loss and that feeling of what a quarterfinal means - you’ve either got a shot at a medal or you don't - we are of course disappointed, but at this stage we can still take the learnings.”
“This weekend, we didn't feel like we really found the gear that we found in Vancouver and New York, and that was a combination of things - but what's really going to be important is that we have a great training block leading into France and Spain. We have to compete, we have to bring awareness and accountability to what we're doing, but we also need to make sure that we're coming back to our intentions on how we want to play our style of rugby.”
In their opening match, Spain struck first but Sammy Sullivan kicked into gear to go around the outside and speed down the wing putting points on the board for the USA. A skip pass from Ashley Cowdrey to Ariana Ramsey added another score between the posts putting the USA up 14-7 at the half. Strong defensive rips snatched the ball from Spain just at their line with the Eagles shifting out wide to the other side of the pitch as Sullivan eventually ran it over for her second. A Kaylen Thomas chase down and steal turned over ball for a USA scrum which eventually put the ball back in her hands, this time on attack allowing her to turn on the gas and close out the match with one more try going 24-7.
Next, USA took a decisive 27-5 win over Argentina. Sammy Sullivan and Kaylen Thomas clinched tries in the first half. Argentina opened with points on the restart but the USA sealed the win with a Kristi Kirshe try and second grounding from Sullivan.
In their final pool match, France opened strong with 2 first half tries while holding a strong defensive wall blocking the Eagles from crossing. On the restart, the Eagles shifted wide to Sullivan and with a brilliant crossing supportive line from Thomas, the Eagles ran in their first try under the posts. France responded to go up by 10. Sarah Leavy on the attack, offloaded to Kristi Kirshe to run in a second.
The USA v Canada, North American rivalry kicked off for the chance to advance in the Quarter Finals. The Canadians scored first conceding no points up 0-7 at the half. An off load from Kirshe to Ariana Ramsey leveled the game 7-7. But nearing the final minutes, the Canadians grounded over the line twice sending the USA to the 5th place play-off.
Kicking off day 3, the USA fronted up to Japan looking to solidify the 5th place finish, the USA opened up with a triplet of tries first with Rachel Strasdas finding space to run in and Sammy Sullivan immediately following up with a second. Sariah Ibarra darts one in off a blindside ruck but the Sakura respond with one of their own before half time. Tahana Wilfley ran one across the sides and despite Japan's attempt to come back with 2 subsequent tries, the USA Women held them off to take the win 24.19 and secure the 5th place standing, while Karina Gato made her debut in the USA Jersey.
The USA Women’s Eagles travel back to their home base in California for one last training block before the next leg of the tour restarts seeing back to back tournament weekends in Valladolid Spain from May 29 -31 followed by the final stop in Bordeaux, France June 5 - 7. Live action will be streamed on Paramount+.
| Player # | Player | Sevens Caps |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ariana Ramsey | 21 |
| 3 | Tahna Wilfley | 7 |
| 4 | Lilly Thomas** | Debut |
| 8 | Alex “Spiff” Sedrick | 25 |
| 10 | Karina Gauto | 1 |
| 12 | Kristi Kirshe (C) | 37 |
| 13 | Sarah Levy | 20 |
| 15 | Rachel Strasdas | 14 |
| 19 | Kaylen Thomas | 11 |
| 22 | Sammy Sullivan | 22 |
| 26 | Ashley Cowdrey | 8 |
| 28 | Sariah Ibarra | 12 |
| 33 | Nalu Liufau | 3 |
| 99 | Autumn Czaplicki | 9 |
Pool C USA v Spain (W) 24-7
Tries: Sammy Sullivan (2), Ariana Ramsey, Kaylen Thomas
Conv: Ashley Cowdrey (2)
USA v Argentina (W) 27-5
Tries: Sammy Sullivan (2'), Kaylen Thomas, Kristi Kirshe, Autumn Czaplicki
Conv: Sariah Ibarra
USA v France (L) 14-19
Tries: Kristi Kirshe, Kaylen Thomas
Conv: Sariah Ibarra (2)
Cup Quarter Finals
USA v Canada (L) 19-7
Tries: Ariana Ramsey
Conv: Sariah Ibarra
5th Place Play-Off
USA v Japan (W) 24-19
Tries: Rachel Strasdas, Sammy Sullivan, Sariah Ibarra, Tahna Wilfley
Conv: Sariah Ibarra, Tahna Wilfley
April 17 - 19 | Hong Kong - 5th
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
