The Atlantis Girls are the favorites to win the Elite division at the North American Invitational 7s next week, but players will have to compete until the last practice to earn their roster spots.

The Atlantis U18 Girls program will travel to Salt Lake City with two teams for the tournament on August 3-4. The top 12 girls will compete in the elite division and the remaining 12 in the NAI Open. There will be a jersey ceremony after the final practice to announce the lineups.

Watch the NAI 7s LIVE on FloRugby!

August 3-4

“As a coach you know the core group, but you always have those players that scratch and claw their way into the top side,” said Atlantis’ Director of U18 Girls Wayne DiMarco.

That core group won the 2017 U18 Girls Elite competition, the New York 7s girls bracket, and the 2018 Las Vegas Invitational.

“Last year’s team was phenomenal," DiMarco said. "I mean six of the 12 youth Olympic squad were Atlantis girls. What that means is we have to replace those six players and I think we have young talented prospects doing that.”

The Next Wave 

Allie Ramage and Clara Lemal-Brown might be the next Atlantis players to shine in the elite summer sevens circuit and find themselves in a red, white, and blue jersey. Ramage and Lemal-Brown have toured with Atlantis for three years and will be the leaders of the team in this tournament.

The captain duo will continue their rugby at the collegiate level, Ramage with South Carolina and Lemal-Brown with Quinnipiac, but first they must lead the elite squad through a tough pool of teams.

“This region puts out scary teams every year... at both levels,” Dimarco said. “We’re confident both teams have the talent to be at the top of the standings on the last day.”

Pennsylvania Prodigies

Atlantis has three up-and-coming rugby players who still don't know whether they will play on the elite or open side. On any level look for them to make some highlight plays 

Nina Mason, Sophia Linder, and Makenna Tuman are all from Pennsylvania and will have a few years to develop together.

“They’re only sophomores but they have elite-level talent. When that size comes, just watch out,” DiMarco said. “They’re going to tear it up.”

Atlantis will have a target on its back as the tournament favorite, but that is exactly what the team wants. 

“We want to win games but our priority is to expose these girls to competition and All-American selectors and college scouts," DiMarco said.