The United States’ Kristi Kirshe (12) looks on as teammate Ariana Ramsey (9) breaks away to score a try in the a pool match against Japan during the Rugby Sevens on Day 6 of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Tokyo Stadium on July 29, 2021, in Chofu, Tokyo, Japan. (Dan Mullan, Getty Images/TNS)
Wayne DiMarco knows rugby.
Years after his football career stalled at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa., in the 1980s, DiMarco — who has played, coached, and refereed rugby for more than 25 years — started a rugby club for his daughter, Alex, that has paid dividends in various ways.
“If your daughter is the one getting all the yellow cards in soccer or lacrosse,” DiMarco said in a phone interview, “put her on the rugby field because it is just a phenomenal sport and can open doors for a lot of girls.”
For proof, see Ariana Ramsey, the Philly native who in May graduated from Dartmouth, where she helped the team win back-to-back national championships.
Now 24, Ramsey also is a two-time member of the U.S. Women’s Olympic rugby sevens team. She departed July 14 for a pre-Olympic training camp before heading to the Olympic Village in Paris.
When Ramsey was a sophomore in high school, she was a speedster looking for more of a contact sport than track and field could offer.
She wrestled in middle school, played basketball in high school, and cheered competitively for six years, but track, she thought, would help her get to college.
“But I didn’t really enjoy track,” Ramsey said. “It wasn’t fun. It wasn’t engaging. Then I started playing rugby, found out I could go to college for it, and I took off running.”
Ramsey’s wheels left DiMarco, now 58, awestruck when she first joined his now-closed PA United rugby club.
Like many athletically gifted teenagers, though, Ramsey needed to learn how to marry hard work with natural talent.
Years later, DiMarco — whose daughter, Alex, was a standout at West Point — traveled to watch Ramsey lead Dartmouth against Harvard.
“Ari came up to me,” DiMarco said, “and I’ll never forget this, she said, ‘Coach, I finally understand what you meant about hard work.’ It was a really proud moment for me.”
Bigger, stronger, faster, and feistier college athletes certainly helped accelerate Ramsey’s learning curve.
“When you’re in high school,” she said, “everyone is pretty much afraid to tackle, so it’s easier to get by people. Once you get to college, girls are really starting to put their shoulders into it, and you really feel the hits more ...”
So, in addition to majoring in economics and minoring in Mandarin, Ramsey became a student of the game.
For Team USA, she plays mostly on the wing, which typically is the fastest player on the team, she explained.
“It has taught me that I’m not afraid to go out of my comfort zone or be physical,” Ramsey said. “Rugby is such a tough sport, and I didn’t know that when I started, but I still took the chance to try it.”
Last year, she was captain of the Dartmouth squad that repeated as champs. She also was nominated for the MA Sorensen Award, which is given to the nation’s best women’s college rugby player.
Alex DiMarco, who graduated from Episcopal Academy in 2018, also was nominated. Her father said she likely would have joined Ramsey on Team USA, but she’s currently stationed in South Korea, fulfilling her U.S. Army obligations.
Ramsey’s first Olympic experience was cut short in Tokyo when she tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee, which required nine months of grueling rehabilitation.
The combination of the injury and COVID-19 restrictions at the time, she said, dampens memories of her first Olympic Games.
“That just kind of ruined my experience,” she said, “so I’m just really excited for this Olympics to be fully open, to be able to explore the city, get the full experience, and hopefully not get injured.”
Ramsey isn’t sure what her future holds after the Olympics, but a degree from Dartmouth could open several doors.
Right now, she enjoys being an ambassador for women’s rugby in the U.S.
“I want to inspire young girls to play more rugby through social media and making engaging content,” Ramsey said. “It’s definitely something I’d ultimately like to do, whether I could open a rugby school or camp or program. I’d love to do that back in Philadelphia, where a lot of girls probably don’t even know what rugby is, and maybe give them the same opportunities that I’ve had.”
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