Women’s Elite Rugby announce team names ahead of March 2025 kick-off

With the inaugural Women’s Elite Rugby season now under two months away, the names, colours, and crests for the six teams have been released.

Teams from the Bay Area, Boston, Chicago, Denver, New York, and Twin Cities will compete in the inaugural league, which will feature 180 players and will be the first American professional women’s rugby league.

So far, each team has announced their ‘Foundational Five’, the five athletes who have already committed to the programme and their coaches.

The market teams are the following:

Bay Breakers

Colours: Sunset Purple, Pacific and Deep Sea Blue.
Foundational Five: Olivia Bernadel-Huey, Elena Edwards, Celine Liulamaga, Jade McGrath, and Roxelle Thomas

In a tie to the coastline of the bay, the Bay Area is represented by crashing and relentless waves demonstrating the might and force of nature of the sea. Harnessing the power and unpredictability of ocean waves, the Breakers team will look to break tackles, the spirit of their opponents, records on the pitch, and barriers as women in the game of rugby.

The team crest features a wave, broken by a trident to represent the team wielding the power of the sea. The crest is also backed by the depiction of the California sun with Sunset Purple as well as duelling colours of Pacific and Deep Sea Blue.

Bay Breakers will be coached by Hannah Stolba, who represented the USA at the 2010 and 2014 Rugby World Cups has over a decade of experience in coaching, most recently in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) as Berkeley All Blues Women’s Rugby’s head coach.

Boston Banshees

Colours: Moonlight White, Ghostly Gray, Blood-Moon Red, and Midnight.
Foundational Five: Cassidy Bargell, Yeja Dunn, Akweley Okine, Paige Stathopoulos, and Emily Henrich

In keeping with the rich history of rebellion in the city of Boston and the New England area, WER elevates boundary-breaking women with the Banshees. A banshee is a female spirit of Irish/Celtic folklore whose shriek signals impending doom. As New England is known for its ties to witches/folklore and also a strong Irish community presence, the Banshee is a seamless fit for the city.

The team crest holds a wailing Banshee in the centre signaling the unstoppable force the team will place upon their opponent; a team that will not be silenced, immersed in the colors of Moonlight White, Ghostly Gray, Blood-Moon Red and Midnight.

Cassidy Bargell, Paige Stathopoulos, and Emily Henrich have all been capped for the USA in 15s, and all three were involved in the Eagles’ WXV 1 squad in 2024.

Kittery Ruiz will lead the Boston Banshees, and has been an integral coach for Beantown Rugby, as well as an assistant coach for Brown University and USA Under 20 Women’s National Team. As a player, she also went to two RWCs (2010 and 2014) for 15s as well as being part of the sevens pool in 2009.

Chicago Tempest

Colours: Lightning Yellow and Tempest Gray
Foundational Five: Anabel Diaz, Emma Farnan, Cienna Jordan, Betty Nguyen, and Kadie Sanford

In a tie to the extreme weather of the windy city, the Chicago Tempest plan to bring destruction, power, and unyielding challenges on the pitch and to their opponents. As the winters test the spirit of Chicagoans but never break their will, the team reflects a thunderous storm and reckoning force. The crest features a storm above the iconic Willis Tower in its momentum tied together with Lightning Yellow and Tempest Gray colours.

Bryan Colbridge, Chiacago Tempest’s head coach, brings a wealth of experience to the side, most recently as attack and defense coach for the University of Memphis. For over 15 years in men’s and women’s rugby in the USA, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand, and has coached at high school, collegiate, and senior level. Clubs he has coached at to date also include Memphis Women’s Sevens, Christian Brothers University (Men’s and Women’s 15s and sevens), Memphis Blues Rugby Club (Men’s 15s and sevens) and the Memphis Inner City Rugby (Boys’ and Girls’ 15s and sevens).

Denver Onyx

Colours: Colorado rose onyx and black onyx
Foundational Five: Erica Coulibaly, Rachel Ehrecke, McKenzie Hawkins, Maya Learned, and Tahna Wilfley

As Denver has a rich history of mining for rare gems and metals, the team takes its name from the Colorado rose onyx, a gem featured in the foundation of the Colorado state capitol building and known for its colours that reflect a Colorado sunset. The black onyx—also mined in the state—represents strength, courage and determination symbolising the sheer grit and resilience of these athletes.

The logo features gemstones in these contrasting black and bright pink colours. Like these tones, the team will exude toughness, sharp cuts, hits, and angles reinforcing strength that only intensifies and grows stronger with time.

Denver Onyx features three capped Eagles in their Foundational Five in Rachel Ehrecke, McKenzie Hawkins, and Maya Learned.

Sarah Chobot will take charge of the first Denver Onyx franchise and is assistant coach of the USA Women’s Eagles. Chobot was the first female head coach in the Super Rugby Americas with the American Raptors, where she was also previously defence and forwards coach.

New York Exiles

Colours: Night Navy, Liberty and Shadow Teal, Torch Orange
Foundational Five: Adriana Castillo, Misha Green-Yotts, Matilda Kocaj, Congetta Owens, and Jenn Salomon-Clayton

As the Statue of Liberty is known as the Mother of Exiles and the landmark for opportunity, the team name and crest reflect this nod to Lady Liberty. The city of New York requires grit, determination, and resilience, and through their performance on the field, the Exiles will reflect that culture and community. The team crest holds three, hooded heroes representing not only Ellis Island, the journey to a new life, but also the boldness to step out in a sport that is often seen exiled in mainstream sports culture.

Additionally, these figures within the crest give a nod to the superhero typography associated with New York. The crest also utilises the torch to tie in the city’s symbolism for liberty and illumination. The team colours of Night Navy, Liberty and Shadow Teal, and Torch Orange mirror and unite with the teal-based colour palette of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) New York Liberty, Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) New York Sirens, and the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), New York Gotham.

New York Exiles will be coached by Diego Maquieira, a Queens, NY native. Most recently he was head coach at WPL’s New York Rugby Club, where he led the team to a national semi-final in his first year. As a player, he played for multiple MLR franchises. He has also held coaching positions at Columbia University as the forwards coachfor the Men’s Rugby Football Club, and as assistant coach for the Old Blue Women and U23 Men’s sevens.

Twin Cities (TC) Gemini

Colours: Deep Venom, Serpent Green, Ice Blue
Foundational Five: Emerson Allen, Marisa Hall, Abbey Jacobs, Katrina Nunes, and Tatyana Reed

In representing the Twin Cities, Minneapolis-Saint Paul, the metropolitan area with individual distinction but a common community thread and culture, the team is the Gemini. Gemini refers to the zodiac sign of the twins and is represented by intertwined snakes, mimicking the way that the Mississippi River winds through Minnesota.

From their Foundational Five, Emerson Allen earned her first cap for the USA in August 2024.

As serpents are unpredictable and possess a dangerous force ready to strike, the Gemini will bring these same qualities to the pitch to dismantle their opponent. The colours and design of the crest utilise colours of Deep Venom, and Serpent Green, along with Ice Blue which are often found with the appearance of the aurora borealis in the northern Minnesota skies, while tapping into the twin representation with the entangled snakes.

Sylvia Braaten, who is Performance Recovery Coach with the USA Women’s Eagles, brings over 15 years of experience to her role as TC Gemini head coach.

For four years she was the Lead Physical Performance Coach with the national team, and in the five seasons she coached Harvard Rugby she won two NIRA National Championships (2019, 2023) and most recently one USA Sevens National Championship (2024). She represented Twin Cities Amazons as a player for ten years, played for the USA at the 2014 and 2017 RWCs, and HSBC 7’s World Series over the span of eight years.

WER and MATTA, the United Kingdom-based creative agency, drew inspiration from the teams’ home cities, along with influential input from players and fans when creating the team names, crests, and colours.

After the 2022 “Ignite the Change” campaign seeking to professionalize women’s rugby in the United States from the former Women’s Premier League Rugby player-run and operated amateur league, Women’s Elite Rugby was founded and formed. For more information, CLICK HERE.