The 2025 World Rugby SVNS is officially here as the first traveling roster for the USA Women’s Sevens is announced for Dubai and Cape Town.
A roster of new and emerging talent are set to kick off the new era in lead up to the LA2028 Olympics. Four Olympians from the bronze medal winning team will compete in Dubai, while a few continue an extended off season through the first stops on the series. Dubai SVNS Takes place November 30 - Dec 1, with Cape Town SVNS Dec 7-8 - all live on RugbyPass TV.
Six of the traveling selections will make their SVNS debut in Autumn LoCicero, Su Adegoke, Sariah Ibarra, Hann Humphreys, Alyssa Porter and Nia Toliver. The fresh talent exhibits a new generation of post-Paris athletes looking to make their own mark. Veterans Kristi Kirshe and Spiff Sedrick will rejoin competition in the new year after an extended off season, Sammy Sullivan also remains home on injury recovery while Ilona Maher will take a hiatus from sevens with designs to compete for a spot on the USA 15s squad during the 2025 Rugby World Cup.
Kayla Canett and Alena Olsen will step up as co-captains, joined by Sarah Levy and Ariana Ramsey as the Paris 2024 representatives. Canett will earn her 30th HSBC SVNS selection since first debuting in 2016, only the 8th USA Women's Eagle to meet the mark.
Head Coach Emilie Bydwell said on the post-Olympic preseason, "We just completed a six week preseason at our training base in Chula Vista, which saw us usher in the next generation of USA Women’s Sevens. We see this first year of the quad being focused around building the foundation required to build through the next four years. Preseason has emphasized the development of physical capacity, tolerance, and developing the technical skills required to play the way that we want to. Beyond that, we have been working on how to help our new residents understand how to thrive in a professional, full time environment and instill the culture and values of our program."
Looking ahead at the first tournament in this new era, Bydwell added, "We are very thankful that we were able to compete with Premier Rugby Sevens prior to getting on the plane to compete in the first SVNS competition in Dubai. We have a young group selected for Dubai, filled with players that have worked their way through the pathway and the collegiate system.
"As a team we are looking to play a fast, dynamic and dictative game; and the group has all the attributes required to do that. It will take time for us to gel and adapt to the level that the SVNS offers up, so we will focus on continuing to take a brick-by-brick approach, fortifying our foundations and emphasizing the opportunities for our players to express their unique strengths.
"While it's always tempting to think about the outcome, as a group we understand that at this stage the process is more important and how we show up with the intent and attention to grow with every success and challenge is critical - that is what we will look to do across the first 2 tournaments of the season."
| NAME | SVNS Tournaments |
|---|---|
| 1. Ariana Ramsey | 7 |
| 3. Kayla Canett (C) | 29 |
| 6. Alena Olsen (C) | 24 |
| 13. Sarah Levy | 11 |
| 15. Rachel Strasdas | 1 |
| 16. Jess Lu | 1 |
| 19. Kaylen Thomas | 2 |
| 20. Autumn LoCicero | Debut |
| 24. Su Adegoke | Debut |
| 28. Sariah Ibarra | Debut |
| 29. Hann Humphreys | Debut |
| 32. Alyssa Porter | Debut |
| 33. Nia Toliver | Debut |
Emilie Bydwell | Head Coach
Zack Test | Assistant Coach
Trey Ford | Head of Athletic Performance
Nicole Titmas | Manager of Medical Services; Head Athletic Trainer
Liz Strohecker | Head of Operations - Sevens
USA vs Great Britain | 12:22am ET
USA vs Spain | 2:59am ET
USA vs France | 7:51am ET
Quarterfinals begin Sun, Dec 1 at 12:20am ET
