ANNAPOLIS, Md. –
Last year the Department of Air Force women’s rugby team gave the All-Army team all it could handle in the gold medal match of the 2025 Armed Forces Women’s Rugby Championship.
Despite a roster fused with new talent, Air Force still fell to Army 15-14 in the rugby sevens gold medal final after jumping out to a 14-5 halfitme lead on Sept. 7, 2025.
Air Force hopes to bounce back from last year’s loss during the 2026 Armed Forces Women’s Rugby Championships this weekend at the U.S. Naval Academy Aug. 1-2. Matches begin at 11 a.m. Aug.1 at the USNA Rugby Field with a rematch of last year’s championship final, Air Force vs. Army.
Air Force will be led by a new head coach, Maj. Gianna Khoudary, an Air Force weapons officer stationed at Nellis Air Force Base Nevada.
Khoudary said her team has the potential to build off last season’s second place finish.
“I would say the talent level continues to grow,” Khoudary said. “They play at elite levels. They play on professional teams. This year we have a really strong showing.”
Air Force has three players who competed for the All Armed Forces team at the CISM World Military Championship and also have national team member Kelsie O’Brien, an Air Force reservist, returning to the squad.
Defending champs: Army (5-0 in 2025) lost some of its top players last year but managed some dramatic victories vs. Navy, Coast Guard and the championship match.
Returning players from the 2025 championship team include winger, Maj. Annie Lee, U.S. Army Reserve, and 1st Lt. Naomi Colin, an Army Ranger stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia, who was invited to the U.S. national team training camp.
Sgt. 1st Class Lolita Galdones of Fort Bragg North Carolina, a team captain with a combined 11 years experience playing at the club and All-Army levels also returns. Army coach Kaitlyn Kelly said Army brings one of its youngest rosters to camp including recent graduates from the U.S. Military Academy women’s rugby team, Second Lts. Alissa Eisenhart and Emma Gamboa.
“It’s really exciting to see the next generation of the team coming into fruition,” Kelly said.
1st Lt. Kaity Schwarting, a Black Hawk pilot and key player in 2025, could not join the team due to a deployment.
Navy: During the 2025 tournament in Chula Vista, California, Navy battled Air Force until the final seconds before giving up a late try to fall 17-14. Against eventual champion Army, Navy jumped out to an early 15-7 lead before Army rallied for the 27-15 comeback.
“It was just kind of the basics,” Navy coach Talia Carrasquillo said. “We kind of fell off. That last minute of those games last year against Air Force and Army were a missed tackle here and a missed tackle there and they were really good at holding us off after that.”
This year the All-Navy rugby team will be led by a pair of experienced captains, Lt. Cmdrs Tia Blythe and Elizabeth Pittman.
Coast Guard: The All-Coast Guard women’s rugby team has a wealth of experience on its coaching staff.
Meya Bizer, a U.S. national team member and former Penn State star, joins former Team USA player and All-Army standout Dani McDonald to coach the All-Coast Guard team.
Coast Guard put Army on its heels in their 2025 matchup, when Lt. j.g. Ariyanna Jurkowski and Lt. Hollis Connick both scored tries to grab a 14-7 lead. However, Army erupted for 24 straight points to win 31-14.
Bizer said that after her team’s third place finish she gave each player individual feedback and skills to work on in the offseason. Scrum half Isabella “Izzy” Ortez and center Jordan Day return to lead a talented group of newcomers and returning players.
“We did a lot of work on team cohesion playing off each other and playing off opportunities the other team gives us,” Bizer said. “We can’t wait to see how they put it together this weekend.”
“We want to attack on our terms and goals that we want to attack that we’ve created,” Bizer said.
Marine Corps: Longtime college coach Bryan Oyen returns a Marine Corps team with more elite rugby experience. Recently, the All-Marine Corps team scrimmaged with Coast Guard and Air Force in a practice tournament in July, with the Marines taking first place.
Oyen said the Marines allowed only one try scored against them during the tournament. The team has several new additions and players who could not join the squad last season due to mission requirements including players who competed for the Naval Academy women’s rugby team, including Kendall Smith and Kindra Dawson.
He believes the team has put together a quick turnaround after finishing in 5th place, the Marine’s lowest finish since the Armed Forces Soccer Championships began in 2019. The team built momentum during two weeks of training camp in Quantico, Virginia.
Oyen said his team’s bruising, physical style of play will keep them in matches.
“This team has meshed really well really fast,” Oyen said. “It’s been tremendous how fast they’ve come together. They’re all working with each other; it’s all about the team, not the individual.”