Wheeling, W. Va. - 2024 was a whirlwind for the Wheeling University Women's Rugby team, from having the program be formally announced in March to winning a National Championship by December. The Cardinals have been receiving recognition both on the National stage and around the local community, with several rallies still planned, and they continued receiving honors from National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) with the announcement of their annual All-American Teams. Four Cardinals would make the list with junior flyhalf Bella Gullatta, sophomore center Alexis Dallas, junior wing Tamzin Boyce, and freshman tight-head prop Joelle Taylor all earning honors.
The most veteran member of the list is Bella Gullatta, who is taking home the third NCR All-American award of her career from three different schools. She has been in the NCR National Championship game in each of the last three seasons, winning her first title with the Cardinals this season. She was one of four captains, and led by example on the field scoring a team-high 170 points during the season. She finished fourth on the team with nine tries, with her biggest contribution coming in the kicking game. Gullatta made 55-76 conversion kicks on the season (72.37%) and 4-6 penalty kicks (66.7%) accounting for 122 of her 170 points on the season. She rounded out her scoring with the only drop goal of the season, adding three more points to her stat sheet, to round out a strong junior season for the Cardinals.
The other multi-time All-American award winner was Alexis Dallas, who is taking home the second All-American award of her career. While Gullatta was the team's point leader, it was Alexis Dallas who led the team in tries with 17 on the season, and kicked her game into high gear during the postseason run. It began with a season-high four try effort against Kent State in the second to last regular season game, and from there she would score multiple tries in five of the remaining six matches. In the NCR National Championship match, Dallas would account for one of her team's seven tries, and was a force on the defensive end. For her efforts, she earned the National Championship game MVP award, rounding out what was a strong season for the sophomore.
Tamzin Boyce took home the first All-American award of her career, putting together a breakout year for the Cardinals. The junior transfer would finish third on the team with 11 tries on the season, while also finishing third on the team with 55 points. She became the first Cardinal ever to score multiple tries in a game when she scored two against Emory & Henry College, and would go on to accomplish that feat six times in the team's 12 games. One of those came on the biggest stage, when she was one of two multi-try scorers for the Cardinals in their 58-17 win over Southern Nazarene in the National Championship match. Boyce was also one of two Cardinals selected to the Women's National 7's Cup Challenge, joining teammate Dallas in being selected.
The final All-American award for the Cardinals came courtesy of freshman Joelle Taylor, who earned her first career All-American Award. Nicknamed "The Monster" Taylor showed off her power running throughout the year, helping the Cardinals once they got into the 10-meter line. Taylor would finish with seven tries on the season, accounting for 35 points, including a multi-try effort against Ohio University. She would account for five points in the National Championship game, and played her way into the starting lineup. She was used as a sub at halftime early in the year, but as she continued to show her skills on the pitch, she became a mainstay in the Cardinal's lineup as they headed down the postseason stretch.
With the announcement of the NCR Women's DI All-American list, the Wheeling University Athletic Department has now had six student-athletes earn All-American honors this season. Women's Rugby has had the most All-Americans in the department, with Wheeling Men's Rugby and Wheeling Volleyball each having two honorees on their respective All-American lists.
The Wheeling University Women's Rugby team will kick-off their spring 7's season on Saturday, March 1st, when they head to the Frostbite 7's.
