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Kristi Kirshe

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Kristi Kirshe
Date of birth (1994-10-14) October 14, 1994 (age 30)
Height5 ft 5 in (165 cm)
Weight160 lb (73 kg)
SchoolFranklin High School
UniversityWilliams College
Rugby union career
Position(s) Center, Prop (7s)
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2018–Present United States
National sevens team
Years Team Comps
2019–Present United States 81 (215)
Medal record
Women's rugby sevens
Representing  United States
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Paris Team competition

Kristi Kirshe (/ˈkɜːrʃi/ KUR-shee; born October 14, 1994)[1] is an American rugby sevens player who has played for the U.S. Women's Rugby Sevens team since January 2019.[2] Kirshe also played one season with the Rocky Mountain Experts of Premier Rugby Sevens.

Kirshe started her rugby career with the Northeast Academy and Boston Rugby, from there she was selected to join the Women's Falcons at the Hokkaido Governor's Cup in 2018.[2] She played in both the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, where she won a bronze medal as a member of the U.S. Women's Rugby Sevens team.[2][3]

Early life

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Kirshe was introduced to soccer from a young age, playing with the Franklin Youth soccer program at 4 years old.[4] Both of her parents, Greg Kirshe and Kathleen Kirshe, played soccer for Cornell.[4]

Throughout childhood and young adulthood, Kirshe played a wide variety of sports. She was the quarterback on her Pop Warner football team and played soccer, basketball, and lacrosse for Franklin High School.[4] Her senior year, the soccer team won the state championship.[4]

College career

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Although Kirshe attended several Division I soccer camps, she ultimately decided to attend Williams College, where she hoped she'd find a better balance between school and sports.[4]

While at Williams, Kirshe broke several Williams College records, including the records for goals in a single season and career wide goals.[5] Kirshe also won several soccer awards, including the NESAC 2016 Player of the Year Award.[6]

Rugby career

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After graduation, Kirshe began working at Boston based law firm Ropes and Gray.[5] Kirshe soon found herself missing the thrill of competitive sports and decided to try rugby at the behest of Grace Conley, a high school teammate of Kirshe's and a rugby player at Boston University.[7] While initially reluctant, Kirshe began playing rugby in spring 2018 for the Boston Women's Rugby Club.[7] Within 6 months, Kirshe realized she was capable of playing rugby professionally.[5]

U.S. National Sevens Team

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Kirshe made her debut with the U.S. Eagles sevens team in Sydney in 2019.[8] In 2021, she competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.[9][10][11][12][13] In 2022, She was again selected for the United States to compete at the 2022 Rugby World Cup Sevens in Cape Town.[14][15][16] In 2024, she competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris and won a bronze medal.[3]

Premier Rugby Sevens

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Kirshe played for the Women's Experts during PR7s inaugural season in 2021.

References

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  1. ^ "KERSHE Kristi". Olympics.com. 2024. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "Kristi Kirshe". eagles.rugby. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  3. ^ a b "US women's rugby team shocks Australia for historic bronze medal". NBC Connecticut. July 30, 2024. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e Dan Cagen. "High School Notebook: Franklin's Kirshe a shooting star who rose fast". Milford Daily News. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c McGovern, Jack. "Kristi Kirshe '17 earns bronze medal with USA Eagles". The Williams Record. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  6. ^ "Women's Soccer All-NESCAC Teams Announced". nescac.com. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  7. ^ a b Grabowski, Kyle. "Franklin's Kristi Kirshe a blueprint for USA rugby ahead of 2nd Olympics appearance". Milford Daily News. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  8. ^ "USA Women's Sevens Preview: HSBC Sydney Sevens 2019". January 21, 2019.
  9. ^ "KRISTI KIRSHE, RUGBY". teamusa.org. Archived from the original on August 11, 2020.
  10. ^ McCarron, Heather. "Going for gold. Franklin's Kristi Kirshe competing with women's rugby team at Tokyo games". Wicked Local. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  11. ^ "Franklin's Kristi Kirshe Goes from Novice to the US Olympic Rugby Team in 2 Years". NBC Boston. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  12. ^ Weitzer, Nate (June 18, 2021). "Franklin's Kristi Kirshe named to US women's rugby Olympic roster - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  13. ^ "A Rugby Newcomer Pursues Her Olympic Dream". www.wbur.org. February 28, 2020. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  14. ^ "USA women's 7s for Spain announced". planet7s.com.
  15. ^ "USA names rosters for Sevens World Cup". Americas Rugby News. September 2, 2022. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  16. ^ Cahill, Calder (September 1, 2022). "Women's Eagles Sevens target podium chase as roster is named for the Rugby World Cup Sevens". eagles.rugby. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
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