Maryville Lady Ruggers make history

Ten Maryville Rugby girls made history in October after being selected to the first-ever South under-19 Womens Rugby team. The team was chosen from a selection camp held in Knoxville on Sept. 23, with selected members hailing from Maryville, Knoxville, Memphis, Farragut, Karns, the University of Tennessee, Georgia Tech, Middle Tennessee State University and Pellissippi State.

Maryville Rugby Football Club members include Candace Barley and Jenny Beaman (both selected for the under-19 Womens National Rugby Team this summer), Becca Booker, Erin McCroskey, Rachel McCroskey, Abi Muelder, Jess Peterson, Katie Peterson, Jennifer Smith and Brett Vandygriff (currently the fastest 40-meter under-19 female rugger in
the U.S.).

There are seven territorial unions in USA Rugby. The Invitational National All-Star Championship held in Nashville Nov. 18-19 had four of those seven unions represented: South, West, Northeast and Midwest. Maryvilles head coach, Jay Hawkins, and womens national team head coach Bryn Chivers were able to attend the championship games. To learn more about South Rugby, visit http://www.usarugbysouth.com/.

To find out more about local Maryville rugby go to www.mrfcrugby.com. Regional information is available at www.smacrugby.com.