WEST CHESTER, Pa.- The West Chester University women's rugby team is finishing its preparations to open its Spring 7s season this weekend at the Frostbite 7s Tournament in nearby Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
"We are very excited to get the season going," opened head coach
Tony DeRemer. "The team always enjoys the spring season because it is a faster, more wide-open style of play. The weather to start the season has been tough, especially with how lucky we've been in the last couple years, but we've gotten some good work in and are excited for this weekend."
This weekend's Tournament, which will once again be held at Hempfield High School in Landisville, is the first of four regular-season tournaments on the calendar for West Chester, as the team will head to Navy on Sunday, March 22, before hosting the WCU 7s Tournament on March 29, ahead of the Frostburg 7s Tournament on April 19. West Chester is expected to conclude its season at the Collegiate Rugby 7s Championships on April 25-26 at the Maryland Soccerplex in Boyds, Maryland, once again. West Chester won the Bowl Championship at the Championships last year after posting wins over Southern Nazarene (19-18) and Mount St. Mary's (33-12) on the final day of the Championships, led by Lily Rhode and
Brooke Crago, who scored 26 and 25 points, respectively.
"We made the schedule in such a way that everyone will get some significant playing time and really maximize their experience. I'm excited that we were able to make the schedule this way so our whole roster will get some quality opportunities this spring and not just the top 10-12 players as we have had in years prior We are taking just our gold squad to Lancaster this weekend really looking at it as a great developmental weekend for us before the full squad gets back in action at Navy later in March," explained DeRemer.
When the Golden Rams take the field on Sunday morning, it'll be the team's first action since November 22, when the team fell to American International College (AIC) in the NIRA Division II Championship match.
West Chester returns several experienced players from both the 2025 7s season and another successful 15s campaign last fall.
"In the fall, our captains of
Sofia Lasonio,
Alyssa Miller, and
Emma Davies did a great job getting the team together and getting us going in the right direction in the
middle of the season, which led to us finishing the year in the Championship match. I'm looking for that leadership group to continue their efforts this spring," started DeRemer. "
Bridget Kowalski is someone who I think could make a major impact this spring with her speed, and I'm excited for potential breakout seasons by Candyce (Fougere), Smego (Laura), and
Jade McCool, who have all had a great preseason."
The duo of
Bridget Kowalski (Chester Springs, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) and
Camryn Snow (Exton, Pa./West Chester East) are the top two returning scorers from the 2025 7s team, which finished the season with a record of12-9 as Kowalski scored eight trys in 21 matches, while Snow scored four in 19.
Ashlyn Wissler (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) added three trys of her own for 15 points on the year.
"I also want to highlight
Camryn Snow," continued DeRemer. "She had a great fall and is someone with great experience and leadership skills that will be really valuable to our success this spring."
West Chester heads into the Spring season after another strong fall season, which saw the Golden Rams finish 5-4 overall and 4-2 in NIRA matches, which helped the team return to the NIRA Tournament, advancing past Bowdoin in the semifinals by a 19-5 final before falling to AIC in the Division II Championship by a 74-0 final. This appearance was the Golden Rams' third appearance since 2019 and the first since 2021.
West Chester returns a Quartet of NIRA All-Americans from the fall as
Emma Davies (Kennett Square, Pa./Kennett) and
Christelle Adikpeto (Abomey Calavi, Benin/Moon Area) earned First Team honors, while Snow and Wissler earned Honorable Mention recognition.
In the fall, Davies led West Chester in scoring once again with two trys, a team-best 13 conversions, and five penalty kicks for 51 points. Adikpeto led West Chester in trys with five as she finished the year with 25 points, which was second-best on the team to repeat as an All-NIRA selection.
"I always enjoy seeing how much players develop during their time here," said DeRemer. "I think the sophomore-junior seasons are when we see the most development from players in our programs as they build their confidence and are able to translate that into success on the field."
Checking on the Eagle
A constant point of pride for West Chester in recent years has been the growing USA Eagles career of recent alum Autumn Czaplicki. After earning her first cap and first start with USA 7s last winter, Czaplicki has become an even more consistent presence in the USA Lineup this year, playing in 15s and 7s action as an Eagle, including her first international try against Fiji earlier this month with a 70-meter dash. Czaplicki became the first WCU player to score a try in a USA Uniform. The Eagles are slated to compete at SI Stadium in Newark, New Jersey, on March 14-15 as the HSBC Svns Series continues. First, the USA will compete in Vancouver on March 7 against Canada, Fiji, and Australia.
"Autumn is doing great things with USA Rugby," said an excited DeRemer. "She is still working hard to stay with the team for the upcoming two-year Olympic Cycle and has had a great run of play in the last few weeks, including her offload for a winning try in Singapore and her first try in a Team USA Uniform in Perth, Australia. She is still waiting to see if she'll be with the team for the next few Tournaments, but if she is, she'd be playing nearby in Newark, New Jersey, on March 14-15, which could give us a good chance to go see her live," continued DeRemer.
While Czaplicki is the Golden Ram alum making the most headlines with Team USA, she is not the only former Golden Ram who has attracted the attention of USA Rugby. DeRemer shared that
Brooke Crago and Corinne Gallagher are also in the high-performance pathway with the Eagles. Crago participated in a camp in Chula Vista in December and will have a June residency in Chula Vista, while Gallagher is in the senior player pool for the USA 15s squad and has also participated in development camps with both the 15s and 7s teams.
