Ilona Maher '18, Team USA Open Rugby World Cup Sevens Friday against China
7/13/2018 11:13:00 AM | Women's Rugby
Former Quinnipiac Rugby Star Selected for First Career World Cup Appearance
Rugby World Cup Sevens Home Page
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Former Quinnipiac women's rugby star Ilona Maher '18 has been named to the USA Rugby Women's Eagles National Sevens Team for the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 Tournament, which gets underway on Friday at AT&T Park in San Francisco when Team USA takes on China at 3:34 p.m. (EDT) in the final opening round women's match.
Maher is one of 12 players selected for the Women's Eagles Sevens after making her senior international debut with the team at the HSBC World Sevens Series in Paris, France last month.She recorded two tries at last month's tournament as she joins a team stacked with four members of the 2016 Olympic team and seven additional players that played at the 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup 15s Tournament. The U.S. is ranked fifth and must remain undefeated in order to advance in the knockout competition.
"It doesn't quite feel real that I will be playing in the World Cup, but I know once I step onto that field on home soil it will cement itself," said Maher. "I am extremely honored, but also know there is so much more work to be done and this is only the beginning."
In her Quinnipiac career, Maher helped the Bobcats to three consecutive national championships in her three seasons, earning Most Outstanding Player honors at the NIRA Championships this past fall. She had five tries over the championship weekend, as the Bobcats picked up a semifinal win over Central Washington and a national title win over Dartmouth.
A three-time NIRA All-American at Quinnipiac, Maher earned the MA Sorensen Award as the top player in collegiate rugby as a junior in 2016-17, and is one of five finalists for the award this year, which will be announced on June 9. Maher was also named the Quinnipiac Female Athlete of the Year at the athletic department's senior awards banquet in May.
For more offseason information on Quinnipiac women's rugby, visit QuinnipiacBobcats.com/Rugby and follow the team on Twitter, @QU_Rugby, and Instagram, @QURugby.
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Former Quinnipiac women's rugby star Ilona Maher '18 has been named to the USA Rugby Women's Eagles National Sevens Team for the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 Tournament, which gets underway on Friday at AT&T Park in San Francisco when Team USA takes on China at 3:34 p.m. (EDT) in the final opening round women's match.
Maher is one of 12 players selected for the Women's Eagles Sevens after making her senior international debut with the team at the HSBC World Sevens Series in Paris, France last month.She recorded two tries at last month's tournament as she joins a team stacked with four members of the 2016 Olympic team and seven additional players that played at the 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup 15s Tournament. The U.S. is ranked fifth and must remain undefeated in order to advance in the knockout competition.
"It doesn't quite feel real that I will be playing in the World Cup, but I know once I step onto that field on home soil it will cement itself," said Maher. "I am extremely honored, but also know there is so much more work to be done and this is only the beginning."
In her Quinnipiac career, Maher helped the Bobcats to three consecutive national championships in her three seasons, earning Most Outstanding Player honors at the NIRA Championships this past fall. She had five tries over the championship weekend, as the Bobcats picked up a semifinal win over Central Washington and a national title win over Dartmouth.
A three-time NIRA All-American at Quinnipiac, Maher earned the MA Sorensen Award as the top player in collegiate rugby as a junior in 2016-17, and is one of five finalists for the award this year, which will be announced on June 9. Maher was also named the Quinnipiac Female Athlete of the Year at the athletic department's senior awards banquet in May.
For more offseason information on Quinnipiac women's rugby, visit QuinnipiacBobcats.com/Rugby and follow the team on Twitter, @QU_Rugby, and Instagram, @QURugby.
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