Following a new process for this year, every player selected was seen by a panel of three scouts, either live at play-offs or through submitted DVDs.  The selection panel was Chris Ryan, Keenya Warner and Sue Whitwell.

“The selection panel did a tremendous job in working through the new process,” said Nigel Melville, USA Rugby’s CEO and President of Rugby Operations.  “I want to thank them all for the time they have put in and we believe that the process has done a good job in identifying the best possible team.”

The selection panel was at USA Rugby National Guard College Club Playoffs in Albuquerque, where all the Division 1 and Division 2 games were observed.   The panel developed key performance criteria for each position and coaches’ recommendations were used to target players.  The players were scored against the criteria and this became the starting point of the selection.

“The selection criteria were really useful to help us compare players from different games,” said panel-member Chris Ryan.  “However the scores were just a guide, when the scores were close it was always a panel and discussion.”

The quality of collegiate players made some of the selections very difficult, and players that were very close to making one of the teams were named as honorable mentions.  The depth of players in some positions meant that some players were named out of position because it was determined that they were more worthy of recognition than other players in that position.

“We really looked at the selection process as determining the best team,” said panel-member Sue Whitwell.  “This meant that some players were named out of position, however, we believe that those players were All-Americans this year and deserved to be named.”

USA Rugby has named a first and second All-American Team for Division 1 and a first team for Division 2.  While the teams that did well in the play-offs have strong representation, a number of players were selected through DVD submission.

“We wanted to give every player in America the chance to be an All-American, so we asked for teams to submit video of their top players,” said panel-member Keenya Warner.  “Obviously play-off teams have won games and tend to have better players so they tend to have more recognition in the list.”

1st Team All-American - Division I
Prop: Kristine Vargas (Chico State University)
Prop:  Susan Dekker (Stanford University)
Hooker:  Diana Peng (Stanford University)
Lock:  Breanna Strand (Naval Academy)
Lock:  Stacey Bridges (Texas A&M University)
Flanker:  Kelsey Moss (Stanford University)
Flanker: Alison Worman (Penn State University)
Number 8:  Kathleen Daley (Penn State University)
Scrum-half: Jacelyn Tseng  (Stanford University)
Fly-Half:  Melissa Smit (Stanford University)
Inside Center:  Kathryn Black (West Chester University)
Outside Center:  Emilie Bydwell (Brown University)
Wing:  Ono Nseyo (Stanford University)
Wing:  Jacey Cardwell (Texas A&M University)
Fullback:  Jessica Watkins (Stanford University)

2^nd Team All-American – Division I
Prop:  Pia Chapman (Naval Academy)
Prop:  Marisa Pineda  (UCLA)
Hooker: Erica Lausch (Penn State University)
Lock: Caitlin Fontana (Chico State University)
Lock:  Lauren Daly (University of Colorado)
Flanker: Michelle Akins (Naval Academy)
Flanker:  Tara McBride (Chico State University)
Number 8: Brea Hughes (Texas A&M University)
Scrum-half:  Elizabeth Trujillio (Naval Academy)
Fly-Half: Lindsey Haggerty (University of Wyoming)
Inside Center:  Kelly Griffin (UCLA)
Outside Center:  Lauren Rosso (Penn State University)
Wing: Tyra McGrady (Indiana University)
Wing: Dianna Ruth Zempel (Naval Academy)
Fullback:  Rachael Muir (Penn State University)

Honorable Mention:
Caroline White (Chico State University)

1^st Team All-American – Division II
Prop:  Laura Greenlee (Duluth University)
Prop:  Kaci Darso (Western Washington University)
Hooker: Sadie Borneman (Duluth University)
Lock: Brittany Myers (Shippensburg University)
Lock: Brittany Rineman (Shippensburg University)
Flanker: Caila Ney (University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee)
Flanker:  Tiffany Gjestvang (Duluth University)
Number 8: Kati McCormick (University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee)
Scrum-half:  Mari Scamp (East Carolina University)
Fly-Half: Sybil Taunton (Norwich University)
Inside Center: Jenna Boggi (Shippensburg University)
Outside Center:  Kerilee Shirey (Shippensburg University)
Wing: Michelle Jeffcoat (Shippensburg University)
Wing: Brittany Biedenbender (University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee)
Fullback: Natalie Monroig (Shippensburg University)

For more information on the Women’s All-American Teams, please visit www.usarugby.org/goto/womens_selections.