Ontario Blues Senior Women name 2018 Long-List Roster

May 08, 2018

Head Coach Stu McReynolds has named a Senior Women's long-list roster as the squad begins to prepare for the 2018 Canadian Rugby Championships in Saskatoon, SK (July 16-22, 2018)

The Senior Women's squad is coming off of a Canadian Rugby Championship gold medal finish in 2017 and the coaching staff are looking forward to the opportunity of defending their championship.

“On behalf of the Ontario Senior Women's Coaching staff we are delighted to announce our 2018 Long List," said McReynolds. "We have been impressed and inspired by the standard of play over the past few talent ID sessions, and we are very excited to work with these outstanding group of women all as we strive to win the National Championships in July. The standard of female rugby in this province continues to rise, and we are confident that the performances of our Ontario Senior Women’s team will be inspire future generations of athletes to become involved in our sport.”

The long-list roster includes 17 returning players and three players from last year's Under-20 Ontario Blues roster. On top of this strong group of athletes, there are six players on the list who were on Rugby Canada's 2017 Women's World Cup Roster or Reserve list.

For more information on the team, visit www.rugbyontario.com/blues-senior-women.

Ontario Blues Senior Women's Long-List Roster

Sam Alli, Barrhaven Scottish

Emily Barber, Aurora Barbarians*

Dria Bennett, Ottawa Irish

Madison Brattan, Fergus Highland

Cassidy Calvert, London St. George’s

Arielle Dubissette-Borrice, Aurora Barbarians

Zana Everett, Brockville Sirens*

Becca Gannon, Aurora Barbarians*

Kelsey Gsell, Toronto Saracens

Veronica Harrigan, London St. George’s*

Jasmine Hector, Toronto Nomads

McKinley Hunt, Aurora Barbarians*

Colleen Irowa, Toronto Saracens*

Lori Josephson, Aurora Barbarians~

Melanie Judges, Ottawa Irish*

Brittany Kassil, Guelph Redcoats~

Daria Keane, Guelph Redcoats*~

Lauren McEwen, Kingston Panthers*

Natasha Naismith, Brampton Beavers^

Cindy Nelles, Belleville Bulldogs~

Emilie Nicholl, Guelph Redcoats^

Fedelia Omoghan, Toronto Saracens*

Megan Pakulis, Toronto Saracens*

Irene Patrinos, Toronto Saracens*

Breanna Phillips, Ottawa Irish

Emily Ricketts, Crusaders*

Laura Russell, Toronto Nomads~

Julia Schell, Guelph Redcoats*

Maddy Seatle, Crusaders

Kylie Shaughnessy, Guelph Redcoats

Lexi Smith, London St. George’s

Danica Spencer, London St. George’s

Katie Svoboda, Brantford Harlequins

Tia Svoboda, Brantford Harlequins

Sara Svoboda, Brantford Harlequins*~

Lauren Walkden, Crusaders*

Saffara Whitely-Hoffelner, Aurora Barbarians*

* Returning Player

^ 2017 Under-20 Player

~ Rugby Canada 2017 World Cup Player/Reserve

Coaching Staff

Head Coach: Stu McReynolds

Assistant Coach: Sonia Sennik

Next-Gen Coach: Jennifer Russell

Manager: Val Swift

Photo Credit: Mike Schroeder

ABOUT THE ONTARIO BLUES

The Ontario Blues program is the high performance representative program for male and female rugby players in Ontario. Rugby Ontario is represented at the provincial level by the Ontario Blues. The program includes representative teams from Under-15 to Senior in both Women’s and Men’s Fifteens and Under-18 Men's and Women's Sevens. Specifically, the program is designed to develop and showcase rugby players for Canadian representative national teams.

ABOUT RUGBY ONTARIO

Rugby Ontario is the provincial sports governing body responsible for the organization of rugby in Ontario. Our mission is to establish a stronger identity for rugby in Ontario by promoting the sport’s core values and by fostering a culture of inclusiveness and excellence on and off the field of play.

To learn more, visit https://www.rugbyontario.com/