CWU women’s rugby team earns six All-American selections
Six Wildcats women's rugby players were recognized for their excellence recently.
COURTESY PHOTO/JACOB THOMPSON/CWU ATHLETICS
ELLENSBURG — Six Central Washington University women's rugby players earned Division 1 Elite All-American honors this season, as announced last week by the College Association of America.
Team captain Tessa Hann was named to the first team for a third consecutive year, while teammates Jessica Postle, Lauren DiPasquale, Shaylee Coulter-Fa'amafu, Winnie Namosimalua, and Lilly Thomas were named to the second team.
Head coach Matthew Ramirez complimented his players for their recognition after finishing ninth at the CRAA USA Rugby College Women's Premier 7's National Championship in early May.
“D1 Elite is an extremely competitive, skilled, and physical competition,” Ramirez said. “For them to be selected is a testament to their hard work and consistency. I'm immensely proud of them and the rest of the team for driving everyone to compete at this level.”
Hann, who also earned a second team nod in 2021, finished her final season with five tries. She has been nominated for the MA Sorensen Award for the top women’s rugby player in the nation, and she plans to continue competing with the U-23 national team this summer.
Namosimalua earned her second-straight D1 Elite All-American second team nod and tied Hann with five tries. Postle, DiPasquale, Coulter-Fa'amafu, and Thomas were honored for the first time.
Thomas led the Wildcats this season with seven tries, and Postle had six. DiPasquale, who was recently selected the USA U-20 camp, finished the season with two tries.
At the Premier 7's National Championship event in Texas, the Wildcats fell to Davenport in the first match by a score of 27-5. Namosimalua notched the lone points for CWU with a successful try. The Wildcats fell to Dartmouth 24-7 In the second match, with Namosimalua once again accounting for CWU's only points.
In the final match of day one, CWU fell to rival Life, 10-7, as the Running Eagles scored a last-second try to seal the victory. Hann nabbed a try for the 'Cats and Kai Brandt-Templeton kicked a successful conversion.
On day two, CWU fell to Princeton, 12-10, after the Tigers scored a try in the last play of the match. In the ninth-place match, CWU emerged with a 21-5 win over Penn State. Thomas finished with three tries and Brandt-Templeton notched three conversions.