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Abby Gustaitis

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Abby Gustaitis
Born (1991-05-09) May 9, 1991 (age 33)
EducationNorth Harford High School
Alma materUniversity of Maryland
Height5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight165 lb (75 kg)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Flanker, Lock, Prop (7s)
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2022–2023 Southern Headliners ()
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2016– United States 7 (-)
Medal record
Women's rugby sevens
Representing the  United States
Pan American Games
Silver medal – second place 2019 Lima Team competition

Abby Gustaitis (born May 9, 1991) is an American rugby union player. She debuted for the United States against France in 2016. She was selected for the squad to the 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup in Ireland.[1][2][3]

Gustaitis was introduced to the sport of rugby by a friend while attending the University of Maryland. After the 2017 World Cup she was recruited to the University of Canberra's sevens team.[4][5]

Early life

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Gustaitis is the daughter of Stan and Tammy Gustaitis. She has two older brothers. She attended North Harford High School, where she played basketball and graduated in 2009. She attended the University of Maryland, College Park and graduated with a degree in Physiology and Neurobiology in 2013 .[6]

Gustaitis discovered rugby as a freshman at University and began to receive invitations to national team camps shortly thereafter. Despite an initial focus on 15s, she crossed over to sevens to achieve a dream of making the Olympics. After missing out on inclusion in the roster for the 2016 Rio Olympics, she weighed giving up the sport entirely.[7]

Professional career

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USA Sevens

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Gustaitis was part of the USA Women's Sevens roster for the 2018 Sevens World Cup in San Francisco, CA, where she led the U.S. to a fourth-place finish. She was also on the roster for 2019 Pan American Games where they finished second. Gustaitis also was part of the team that won the first-ever gold medal HSBC series win for the US Women in Biarritz, France as well as the team that won the first home tournament win in Colorado.[8]

Gustaitis was captain for Team USA at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.[9] The US would finish just shy of the medal rounds after losing in the quarterfinals to Team GB.[10]

In January 2022, Gustaitis was surprisingly dropped from the US Women's program by head coach Emilie Bydwell.[11]

Premier Rugby Sevens

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Gustaitis was named part of the initial 10 ambassadors for Premier Rugby Sevens 2021 Inaugural Championship.[12] She was initially named captain of the Loggerheads' women's team, however due to injury was unable to compete.

In 2022, Gustaitis moved to the Headliners team. She played a key role for the team that would win both the women's series championship as well as the first United Championship.[13]

She would return to the Headliners in 2023. She would be named Player of the Tournament for the Eastern Conference Finals in Pittsburgh.[14] The Headliners would ultimately qualify for the 2023 Championship but finish fourth after losing to the New York Locals in the semifinals.[15][16]

Post-International Career

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Gustaitis has been a color commentator World Rugby, NBC Sports and Premier Rugby Sevens.[17] She is also an ambassador for HSBC and their global program focused on women's rugby.[18] She was named an assistant coach of the US Naval Academy's women's rugby team in 2023.[19]

References

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  1. ^ Wise, Chad (July 17, 2017). "Eagles announced for Women's Rugby World Cup 2017 in Ireland". USA Rugby. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  2. ^ "Women Eagles Name World Cup Squad". www.thisisamericanrugby.com. July 17, 2017. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  3. ^ "New caps in Women's Eagles World Cup squad". Americas Rugby News.com. July 20, 2017. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  4. ^ Dutton, Chris (September 8, 2017). "United States import Abby Gustaitis hopes to turn heads for a different reason in Canberra". Canberra Times. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  5. ^ "USA Eagle set to fly for UC". Canberra.edu.au. September 7, 2017. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  6. ^ "Abby Gustaitis". USA Rugby. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  7. ^ Hill, Glynn A. (August 5, 2023). "Former U.S. captain, Maryland standout comes home for rugby championship". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  8. ^ "Women's Rugby Adds Former Olympian Abby Gustaitis to Coaching Staff". Naval Academy Athletics. August 29, 2023. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  9. ^ "Harford native Abby Gustaitis leading U.S. women's rugby team to Tokyo Olympics". Baltimore Sun. June 30, 2021. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  10. ^ Cahill, Calder (July 30, 2021). "Team USA Women out of medal contention after loss to Great Britain | Latest Rugby News | USA Eagles". eagles.rugby. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  11. ^ Hill, Glynn A. (August 5, 2023). "Former U.S. captain, Maryland standout comes home for rugby championship". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  12. ^ World, Rugby (May 19, 2021). "New professional sevens league in North America". Rugby World. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  13. ^ Pengelly, Martin (August 5, 2023). "'Every moment counts': Abby Gustaitis on Premier Rugby Sevens". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  14. ^ "Pittsburgh has a new Big Ben - Men's Steeltoes win their Home Debut and Qualify for Premier Rugby Sevens Championship | Premier Rugby Sevens". www.prsevens.com. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  15. ^ Washington, Good Morning (August 2, 2023). "DMV's own Abby Gustaitis returns for 2023 PR7s Championship". WJLA. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  16. ^ "Women's Northern Loonies and Men's SoCal Rhinos x Loggerheads win 2023 Premier Rugby Sevens Championships | Premier Rugby Sevens". www.prsevens.com. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  17. ^ Hill, Glynn A. (August 5, 2023). "Former U.S. captain, Maryland standout comes home for rugby championship". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  18. ^ "A world of opportunity: Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens returns with a historic first for women's rugby". South China Morning Post. April 1, 2023. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  19. ^ "Women's Rugby Adds Former Olympian Abby Gustaitis to Coaching Staff". Naval Academy Athletics. August 29, 2023. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
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