The USA Women’s Sevens squad heads to Vancouver for the next stop on the 2024 HSBC SVNS, as they begin their two-week tour of the North American west coast.
HSBC Vancouver SVNS kicks off a week ahead of the team’s home stop in LA. Coming off a fourth place finish in Perth, Eagle eyes will be set on gold as they head toward the halfway point of the 2024 SVNS season.
Recovered from injury, co-captain Lauren Doyle returns to the playing roster alongside co-captain Naya Tapper. Steph Rovetti and Sarah Levy return for their second SVNS stop of the season after making waves in Perth.
HSBC VAN SVNS kicks off Friday, Feb. 23, all matches live on RugbyPass TV with semis and finals simulcast on Peacock.
“We are really looking forward to getting up to Vancouver and back onto the field of play so quickly after the Perth competition. We feel that we ‘laid more bricks in the wall’ with our Perth performance, improving on targeted aspects of play from Dubai and Cape Town. This was highlighted most specifically in our quarterfinal win against France who have been very dominant so far this season. We recognize, however, that we need to improve the consistency in which we deliver this type of performance and ultimately turn the dial up on our collective focus, intensity, and determination. Perth reminded us all that standings and previous results bear no relevance to the game at hand. Every team needs to be prepared to show up and perform to earn a win.
We are looking to improve on our ability to play more quickly, execute our skills under pressure, be more dynamic on transition, and reduce our number of tries conceded when we lose possession. We know how small the margins are in sevens, so we feel that focusing on being 5 percent better in these areas will enable us to produce podium-level performances. Vancouver is a critical step for us as we build into LA, which will be an amazing experience and also a critical pressure test. We plan to go one game at a time and focus on being present in the moment.”
The Eagles face some challenging opponents in Pool B. They begin their Vancouver SVNS weekend against Fiji, the first time the two teams will play each other this season. Sitting in seventh in the season standings, Fiji will be looking out for their first medal of the season.
The team’s second pool match will be against Japan, who will look to redeem their 33-5 loss against the USA in Perth last month. Finally, the Eagles match up with Australia, who have a 3-0 win streak against the USA this season. The Eagles will push for a win in their final pool match to help them book a spot in the quarterfinals.
| Name | Position | HSBC Tournaments |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Cheta Emba | Prop | 31 |
| 2. Ilona Maher | Center/Prop | 25 |
| 3. Kayla Canett | Flyhalf | 24 |
| 5. Alev Kelter | Center / Prop | 42 |
| 6. Alena Olsen | Scrumhalf | 19 |
| 7. Naya Tapper (C) | Wing | 36 |
| 10. Steph Rovetti | Scrum Half / Fly Half | 11 |
| 12. Kristi Kirshe | Prop/Hooker | 21 |
| 13. Sarah Levy | Hooker | 6 |
| 17. Spiff Sedrick | Center | 15 |
| 21. Ariana Ramsey | Wing | 4 |
| 22. Sammy Sullivan | Prop/Hooker | 9 |
| 23. Lauren Doyle (C) | Fly Half | 41 |
Head Coach | Emilie Bydwell
Assistant Coach | Zack Test
Strength & Conditioning | Trey Ford
Athletic Trainer | Nicole Titmas
Sports Psychologist | Peter Haberl
Friday, Feb. 23
v Fiji | 2:30pm ET
v Japan | 7:24pm ET
Saturday, Feb. 24
v Australia | 1:37pm ET
Quarterfinals begin 6:55pm ET
Sunday Feb. 25
Knockouts continue
Live on RugbyPass TV; semis and finals simulcast on Peacock
