MW Names Women’s Thunderbirds for Mary Graham All-Stars

[CHICAGO, IL] – The Midwest Thunderbird Senior Women will once again be returning to Texas Rugby Union’s Annual Mary Graham All-Star Event, this year hosted by the Austin Huns Rugby Club in Austin, Texas. The competition will take place over the weekend of December 2nd and 3rd and feature select sides from the Capital, Mid-America, South, Southwest, and Texas. The Midwest for their part, will have two sides in the competition, one competing in each tier of the competition. All matches will be broadcast live on the Texas Rugby Union’s YouTube Channel. The match schedule for the Thunderbirds is as follows:

• Saturday, December 1 at 10:00 AM CT/ 11:00 AM ET – Midwest “Green” v. USA Rugby South Panthers (Tier 1)
• Saturday, December 1 at 2:00 PM CT/ 3:00 PM ET – Midwest “White” v. Mid-America Rugby Union (Tier 2)

Sunday’s schedule will be dependent on how the teams perform on Saturday:

• Sunday, December 2 at 9:00 AM CT/ 10:00 AM ET – Tier 2 Consolation
• Sunday, December 2 at 10:45 AM CT/ 11:45 AM ET – Tier 1 Consolation
• Sunday, December 2 at 12:30 PM CT/ 1:30 PM ET – Tier 2 Championship
• Sunday, December 2 at 2:15 PM CT/ 3:15 pm ET – Tier 1 Championship

The roster for the two (2) sides were selected by several Midwest Thunderbird events that were held throughout 2023 which included a match against USA Rugby South in January 2023, a match against the Capital Selects in March 2023, a match against the Metropolis Valkyries in May 2023, and two training and tryout sessions held in late summer 2023. From those various events, the Midwest Rugby Union is thrilled to announce the Player Pool for this event:

1. Abbey Jacobs, Twin Cities Amazons
2. Allie Bull, Detroit Rugby
3. Anabel Díaz, Chicago Lions
4. Ariane Lozac’hmeur, Chicago Lions
5. Brittany Salter-Sheridan, Detroit Rugby
6. Brooke Schraffenberger. Twin Cities Amazons
7. Caitlyne Poe, Cincinnati Kelts
8. Cristina Bravo, Chicago Lions
9. Dalena Khothsombath, Metropolis Valkyries
10. Ellie Long, Columbus Women’s Rugby
11. Emilee Jalosuo, Metropolis Valkyries
12. Emma Hovanec, Chicago Lions
13. Esther Anderson, Chicago North Shore
14. Grace Hovde, Twin Cities Amazons
15. Izzi Gibbon, Cincinnati Kelts
16. Jayla Twitty, Cincinnati Kelts
17. Josie Rogers, Twin Cities Amazons
18. Kadie Sanford, Chicago North Shore
19. Kaelene Bavery-Lundstrum, Twin Cities Amazons
20. Karina Sarver, Pittsburgh Forge
21. Katiana Rodriguez, Detroit Rugby
22. Katrina Anderson, Twin Cities Amazons
23. Kristine Smith, Detroit Rugby
24. Kristle Teng, Twin Cities Amazons
25. Loren Schlei, Milwaukee Scylla
26. Lynn Kleyer, Twin Cities Amazons
27. Mackenzie Dirlam/Cardamone, Pittsburgh Forge
28. Maria Bashmakov, Chicago North Shore
29. Mary Kuhner, Columbus Women’s Rugby
30. Megan Ahnen, Metropolis Valkyries
31. Mo Salter-Sheridan, Detroit Rugby
32. Nickole Burkett, Pittsburgh Forge
33. Nicole Fisch, Chicago North Shore
34. Nira Fowler, Detroit Rugby
35. Payton Rohrer, Dayton Women’s Rugby
36. Raven Jones, Cincinnati Kelts
37. Rebecca Tillman, Milwaukee Scylla
38. Reneé Whittenberger, Pittsburgh Forge
39. Shaniyla Ross, Cincinnati Kelts
40. Shannon Hustosky, Columbus Women’s Rugby/ Cleveland Coalition
41. Stephanie Stanton, Grand Rapids Growlers
42. Sunny Groters, Grand Rapids Growlers
43. Syrah Starnes, Chicago North Shore
44. Tina Licari, Metropolis Valkyries
45. Tori Gettys, Fort Wayne Women
46. Whitney Swenson, Metropolis Valkyries

  Coaching & Administrative Staff:

• Todd Fabec, Head Coach (Pittsburgh Forge)
• Libby Berg, Assistant Coach (Metropolis Valkyries)
• Hans Dussureault, Assistant Coach (Detroit Rugby Club)
• Bill Marnell, Midwest Administrator
• Dan Houlihan, Midwest President
• Monica Christian, Midwest Secretary/ Women’s Player Representative