GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Over a half dozen women's rugby players for Davenport University are gearing up for action in USA Olympic training this month, with one Panther seeing international action already.

Charlotte Dauser, Ashley Cowdrey, Carrie Coyer-Westerberg, Alopa Nau, Lionala Mayorga, Rachel Wilkie and Aubrey Crist were selected to compete with the U18, U20 and U23 age groups at the Olympic training camp for the additional opportunity to compete for the national team at some point.

"This is a tryout to help (organizers) decide which players they want to select for a U20s team that will play in July," Coyer-Westerberg said. The freshman flanker was a pillar for DU's success throughout the 15s schedule that saw the Panthers win the NIRA DII National Championship.

"This is a big opportunity for me to take my playing to another level," Coyer-Westerberg said. "It means a lot to me as an athlete because I love rugby and always look for ways to improve. I hope that these achievements from me and my teammates help our rugby team gain more attention."

Cowdrey, a player for the recent U20 group and an offensive juggernaut for DU, was a member of the USA Women's Falcons Sevens who recently participated in the Emirates Dubai 7s Invitational from Nov. 27 to Dec. 4. The invite is a counterpart to the Emirates Dubai SVNS series.

"This past weekend was unreal. I got really good playing time and I was playing alongside girls who have been capped previously or girls who play pro currently," Cowdrey said. "This was the first-ever Women's Falcons team, we made history… We ended up in third place which is a good start for the first-ever tour with the Falcons. The girls were incredibly encouraging and super helpful throughout the week and met some great lifelong friends."

"In the coming months, this team (Women's Falcons) and I will play in more tournaments around the United States and the world," Cowdrey said. "I hope to continue to get the experiences playing at a high level like this… Ideally, the final goal for me is I get capped with the 7s team and play for our national team."

Nau echoed her teammate's excitement, mentioning that the hard work shown in a short time is already paying off at a high level.

"It means a lot as an athlete because I am able to showcase my skills and get seen to play at the next level," Nau said. "It's crazy to see that I've only been playing for three years and have made it this far and can get invited to things, that shows how far I've worked and how much effort I've put into the games… (My hope is) to get noticed and hopefully play professionally when I'm done with school."

The Panthers competing in the Olympic training camp will head to Marietta, GA, from Dec. 27-31 at Life University.