Stacey Bridges

Last updated

Stacey Bridges
Date of birth (1988-04-23) April 23, 1988 (age 35)
Place of birth Waco, Texas, U.S.
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight178 lb (81 kg; 12 st 10 lb)
Occupation(s)Assistant Coach Dartmouth Women's Rugby
Professional rugby union player
Rugby union career
Position(s) Lock
Amateur team(s)
YearsTeamApps(Points)
- Texas A&M ()
International career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
2009-
-
Flag of the United States.svg  United States
USA U-20
40
-
-
-

Stacey Bridges (born April 23, 1988 in Waco, Texas) is a rugby union player from the United States. She made her debut for the United States on 10 August 2009. [1] She represented the Eagles at the 2010 and 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup's; she was a first alternate during the 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup, training and traveling with the team. [2] [3] [4] [5] She played for 2 years with the USA U-20's. In her senior year of high school she was also an alternate for regionals in powerlifting.

Stacey Bridges was voted 2020 Women's XV Player of the Decade. [6] Stacey Bridges has earned 40 caps, marking the second-most caps earned by a USA Women's Eagle, behind US Rugby Hall of Fame Inductee, Jamie Burke, who has 42. Stacey Bridges played 39 of the 40 international games as an 80-minute lock, likely earning Bridges' the record for most minutes played at the international level by a US Eagle. Bridges is known as an expert in set pieces with special skill maintaining go forward in early phases, as highlighted in the USA Eagles v. Barbarians game in 2019, after which FloRugby dubbed Stacey Bridges the "offload master" and one of the best locks in the world. [7]

As a freshman at Texas A&M, Bridges originally sought out to join the power lifting team. While at an open house she asked some of the rugby girls where the power lifting table was and they were able to convince her to give rugby a try. "I haven't looked back yet," Bridges claims. She credits her college coach Will Riddle and her U-20 coaches Bryn Chivers and Lance Connolly for shaping her into the national team player that she is today. She graduated with a master's degree in Kinesiology from Texas A&M University. [8]

She made her debut for the USA Eagles in August 2009 against England. She is the assistant coach for Dartmouth Women's Rugby. [9] [10]

Related Research Articles

The USA Women's National Team XVs represents the United States in women's international rugby union. The team was officially formed in 1987 and is nicknamed the Eagles.

Jamie Burke is a former American rugby union player and now coach.

Alexander Magleby is the CEO of the professional rugby union team, The New England Free Jacks. He is a former professional rugby union coach, and former United States national team player and captain.

Ann Barford is a former female rugby union player. She was a member of the 1991 Women's Rugby World Cup champion squad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Dixey</span> American former rugby union player

Mary Dixey is an American former rugby union player. She was a member of the United States squad that won the inaugural 1991 Women's Rugby World Cup defeating England 19-6 in the final. She played at the Flyhalf position for the Women's Eagles. Her Eagle appearances include matches against The Netherlands, Wales (co-captain), Canada, Japan, and Ireland. She scored a try as an Eagle in the United States v. Ireland quarter-final match in the 1994 Women's Rugby World Cup in Edinburgh, Scotland. In 2017, she was inducted into the U.S. Rugby Hall of Fame as a member of the 1991 Rugby World Cup team. Dixey's club is Beantown RFC and she was part of the coaching staff of Radcliffe Rugby at Harvard University from 1993 to 2001.

Kelly Griffin is an American rugby sevens player and Olympian. As a member of the United States women's national rugby sevens team, she won a bronze medal at the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens, and a silver medal at the 2015 Pan American Games. She was also captain of the United States Women's Rugby Sevens team for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Kristen Thomas is an American rugby sevens player. She competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Kathryn Augustyn is an American rugby union player. She made her debut for the United States in 2012. She was named in the Eagles 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup squad. She also represented the United States at the 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup.

Sylvia Braaten is an American rugby union player. She made her debut for the United States in 2011. She was named in the Eagles 2014 and 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup squads.

Alycia Washington is an American rugby union player.

Deven Johanna Owsiany is an American rugby union player. She made her debut for the United States in 2014. She was named in the Eagles 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup squad. She made her sevens debut for the United States at the 2012 USA Sevens in Las Vegas.

Karameli Tiffany Faʻaeʻe is an American rugby union player. She debuted for the United States in 2016. She captained the US Eagles to the 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup in Ireland. She competed at the 2017 Can-Am Series.

Nicole Heavirland is an American rugby union player. She made her debut for the United States in 2017. She was named in the Eagles 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup squad.

Kayla Canett is an American rugby union player. She made her debut for both the United States fifteens and sevens team in 2017. She was named in the Eagles 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup squad. In 2023, Canett suited up with the Pittsburgh Steeltoes of Premier Rugby Sevens.

Hope Rogers is an American rugby union player who plays for Exeter Chiefs in the Allianz Premier 15s. She has competed for the Eagles in three consecutive Rugby World Cup's, at the 2014, 2017 and the delayed 2021 tournament.

Nicole James is an American rugby union player. She debuted for the United States at the 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup in Ireland. She was uncapped when she was selected for the World Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Diego State Aztecs rugby union</span> Rugby team

San Diego State Aztecs Rugby Club is the rugby union club of San Diego State University in San Diego, California. It fields both men's and women's teams, the men compete in Division 1-A in the California conference and the women play in the Pacific Desert conference of Division II. The Aztec men's team won the US National Collegiate Rugby Championship in 1987.

Krista McFarren is a former American rugby union player and athlete. She was a radiologist in the United States Air Force and rose to the rank of Lt. Colonel before she retired from active duty in 2001.

Meya Bizer is an American rugby union and sevens player.

Gabby Cantorna is an American rugby union player. She plays for the United States and for Exeter Chiefs in the Premier 15s.

References

  1. Sjeklocha, Katie (September 4, 2013). "USA Eagle Stacey Bridges hired as Youth Outreach Manager". Minnesota Youth Rugby. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  2. Wise, Chad (July 17, 2017). "Eagles announced for Women's Rugby World Cup 2017 in Ireland". USA Rugby. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  3. "Women Eagles Name World Cup Squad". www.thisisamericanrugby.com. July 17, 2017. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  4. "New caps in Women's Eagles World Cup squad". Americas Rugby News.com. July 20, 2017. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  5. https://www.usa.rugby/2013/10/women-s-eagles-player-pool-announced-for-2014-women-s-rugby-world-cup/.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. "Eagle Players of the Decade".
  7. "Stacey Bridges: Offload Master".
  8. Yuen, Matt (September 11, 2016). "Captain of USA Eagles comes to coach Dartmouth rugby". The Dartmouth. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  9. "Stacey Bridges Joins Dartmouth Women's Rugby Coaching Staff - djcoilrugby". djcoilrugby. September 7, 2016. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  10. "Stacey Bridges Added to Women's Rugby Coaching Staff". DartmouthSports.com. September 6, 2016. Retrieved September 21, 2017.