The USA Women’s Sevens head to the 2024 SVNS finale in Madrid, where they will vie for the top of the podium to end their season. Head Coach Emilie Bydwell selected 13 athletes to represent the squad in Madrid, captained by Lauren Doyle.
The Highwomen head to Madrid following a warmup tournament in southern France, where the team played Ireland, Fiji, and France, and won the final match on Saturday against Fiji, 14-10. With the extra playing time under their belts, the squad is prepped for the work needed to get to the Madrid SVNS podium.
Madrid SVNS kicks off Friday, May 31, live on RugbyPass. Semifinals and finals will be simulcast on Peacock TV.
“We are very excited about the opportunity to experience the pressure test that Madrid presents for us this weekend.
We have a challenging task ahead of us in our pool with Canada, Great Britain, and New Zealand. We are focused on taking things one game at a time, we must play the game we have in front of us and control our attention in the moment to maximize our ability to execute and play to our strengths. We have set the challenge out to ourselves to ensure that we use this competition to elevate together and deliver the right competition of collective determination and collective focus when it matters.”
The USA begin their Madrid SVNS weekend with a North American border battle rematch against Canada. Their last matchup in Hong Kong was a win to Canada, 12-5, and past matches being decided by a few points. This Madrid matchup is set to start the weekend off with excitement.
Next, the Highwomen meet Great Britain on the pitch. Their last matchup was on USA home soil in Los Angeles, where the Eagles came away with a 34-7 win. With several tournaments’ experience since then, both teams will be looking for every opportunity to take control.
The USA’s last pool matchup is against New Zealand, who won the series standings following Singapore. Having last saw them in the cup final in Hong Kong, the Black Ferns will be the final test for the USA to book their ticket to the semifinal rounds as they chase the Madrid podium.
| Name | Position | HSBC Tournaments |
|---|---|---|
| 2. Ilona Maher | Center / Prop | 29 |
| 3. Kayla Canett | Flyhalf | 28 |
| 4. Nicole Heavirland | Hooker/Scrumhalf | 38 |
| 5. Alev Kelter | Center / Prop | 46 |
| 6. Alena Olsen | Scrumhalf | 23 |
| 10. Steph Rovetti | Scrum Half/Flyhalf | 14 |
| 11. Kris Thomas | Hooker/Prop | 43 |
| 12. Kristi Kirshe | Prop/Hooker | 24 |
| 13. Sarah Levy | Hooker | 10 |
| 17. Spiff Sedrick | Center | 18 |
| 21. Ariana Ramsey | Wing | 6 |
| 22. Sammy Sullivan | Prop/Hooker | 13 |
| 23. Lauren Doyle (C) | Flyhalf | 45 |
Head Coach | Emilie Bydwell
Assistant Coach | Zack Test
Strength & Conditioning | Trey Ford
Athletic Trainer | Nicole Titmas
Sports Psychologist | Peter Haberl
Team Manager | Liz Strohecker
Friday, May 31
v Canada | 12:19 pm ET
Saturday, June 1
v Great Britain | 10:39 am ET
v New Zealand | 2:33 pm ET
Sunday, June 2
Knockout matches starting 4:05 am ET
