WEST CHESTER, Pa.- The West Chester University women's rugby squad is wrapping up its final preparations for start the 2024 7s season this Sunday at the Frostbite Tournament in Lancaster.

"We are excited to get back out on the field and compete," opened head coach Tony DeRemer. "We want to take things day-by-day and just continue to improve on a weekly basis. We have a young group of players and a lot of players who are new to 7s, so the Frostbite Tournament will be a great first time out and a good chance to get people some time."

The Golden Rams are excited to get back on the pitch with a strong group of both new players as well as several talented returners, including the likes of Brooke Crago (Moon Township, Pa./Moon Area), Faith Morley (Glenmoore, Pa./Downingtown West), Ty Hickey (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton) and Sofia Lasonio (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield), who helped lead the team a year ago and during the Fall 15s season.

"Our core group of older/returning players is critical," said DeRemer. "We return the likes of another First 15 All-NIRA selection in Morley, along with Crago, Hickey, and Lasonio, who all bring great experience and leadership into the new season. Sophia has game-changing speed, which is huge in the 7s game. The contributions of this group go beyond just what they do on the field, as they also bring outstanding leadership. This group has been through an entire season together before, and they know how to play and communicate. They've been big in practice stressing the importance of staying wide and not slipping back into the 15s style, which is a much tighter game.

West Chester returns a pair of All-NIRA 15s selections from the fall to the spring season as Morley returns to the pitch alongside freshman Emma Davies (Kennett Square, Pa./Kennett), who led the team in scoring with 44 points, including a team-high eight conversions and six penalty kicks during the fall season.

Davies highlights an outstanding group of young talent for West Chester, which also includes the likes of Camryn Snow (Exton, Pa./West Chester East), Jade McCool (Huntingdon Valley, Pa./Lower Moreland), and Alyssa Miller (Philadelphia, Pa./Girard Academic Music Program). "We have a lot of good young and hungry talent," noted DeRemer. "It's certainly a learning curve from high school to college rugby, so we are working through that with this group, but I've already seen some great things from the likes of Snow and NIRA All-15s selection Davies early on in the season. McCool and Miller are two more young players who are relatively new to the sport but have shown great potential and athleticism this spring."

Last year's 7s season resulted in 10 wins for West Chester, including an impressive 24-14 victory over LIU at the USA Rugby 7's Collegiate Championships in Houston, Texas, parts of which aired nationally on the NBC Family of Networks.

West Chester will open its season on Sunday in Lancaster before hosting the WCU 7's Tournament on March 30, which will come at the end of a nearly month-long break for West Chester. The Golden Rams return to action on April 14 with their annual trip to Princeton for the Emperor 7's Tournament before visiting Frostburg State the following weekend. The USA Rugby 7's Collegiate Championships will conclude the season for West Chester as the team heads to Washington, D.C., on April 27 and 28.

When asked about these Championships, DeRemer said, "Being in these Tournaments is a great learning experience for us as a team. We always have the chance to play some very high-level Division I competition that we don't always see consistently during the regular season, so it certainly helps elevate our level of competition. 7s is also such an ever-growing sport in the sheer volume of teams and the style of play, so this Tournament gives us a good chance to continue learning and understanding how the sport is evolving. Playing in DC will also be great after being in Atlanta and Texas for the first two years. It's always fun to go to a new place, and it's great when it is a little closer to home so we can get some additional fan support at the Championships," concluded DeRemer.

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