Former CWU rugby stars help Team USA to win over Japan

A pair of recent CWU women’s rugby standouts competed for Team USA on Saturday in Shizuoka, Japan, helping the Eagles earn an 11-8 victory over Japan.

The 2023 national college player of the year, Keia Mae Sagapolu, was named a starter for Saturday’s match, the second in a two-match series. Another CWU star, Tessa Hann, was added to the national team roster as an injury replacement last week, earning her first promotion to the senior squad after competing with the under-23 national team for the past two years.

Hann wasted no time making an impact, delivering a key second-half run that led to a penalty kick that tied the score at 8-8. A few minutes later, teammate McKenzie Hawkins converted the game-winning penalty kick, and Team USA held off a late push by Japan to earn the win.

Sagapolu, who now plays professionally for the Leicester Tigers, earned her 11th national team cap. Coach Sione Fukofuka called the roster changes “a combination of rewarding performance and looking at balance” in his team's 23-player roster after a 17-17 draw against Japan last week.

Both former Wildcats finished their collegiate careers as four-time All-Americans. During her senior year, Sagapolu became the only CWU rugby player ever to win the MA Sorensen Award for the nation's best women's college rugby player. The former walk-on from Tacoma made her debut for Team USA in March 2023. Hann, a native of Denver, was nominated for the Sorensen Award in each of her four seasons and served as the Wildcats’ team captain in 2023-24.

Now that Team USA’s visit to Japan has come to an end, both athletes will begin preparing for WXV, an international tournament for senior national teams.  

The second annual event, organized by World Rugby, will be held from September 27 to October 13, and will feature three divisions of six nations each. Team USA will open play against England on September 29 in Vancouver before taking on France and Ireland in rounds two and three.