Meet Abigail McGettigan, a 17-year-old from Downingtown who’s making her Team USA rugby debut
When she first tried the sport at age 10, she was the only girl on the team. Now, she's flying across the Atlantic to Senegal to represent the U.S. And soon, she'll be taking her talents to Harvard.
The first time Abbey McGettigan played rugby, she was the only girl on an all-boys team. Now, she’s flying across the Atlantic Ocean to Dakar, Senegal, to represent Team USA at the Youth Olympic Games as a cocaptain on the women’s rugby sevens team.
Now 17, the Downingtown native turned to rugby after trying several other sports. After getting used to being the smallest on the field when she started as a 10-year-old with the Downingtown Rugby Club, her love for the game has only grown.
“I was so nervous. I had never been more nervous for anything in my life than I was for playing rugby with all the boys,” McGettigan said. “But once I played a few games and went to a bunch of practices, the confidence started building, and I realized how much I loved it, which pushed me to keep going, keep doing it.”
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McGettigan is one of 29 athletes representing Team USA in various sports. The games, which mark the first time an Olympic event will be held in Africa, begin Saturday evening with the opening ceremony. The rugby sevens competition begins Monday and is available to stream through Olympics.com and the Olympics Channel.
Her parents, Sean and Maggi McGettigan, knew they couldn’t pass up the chance to see their daughter compete on an international stage.
“No matter what happens, we’re going to want to go give her big hugs after the games like we always do,” Maggi said. “I remember when we were talking about whether we were going to go or not and looking at the schedule and just seeing the words ‘opening ceremonies’ and being like, ‘Oh, of course we have to go.’”
The McGettigans are no strangers to the sport; family members have played over the years. But when Abbey and her older sister, Lily, began playing, it took their parents some getting used to watching them compete in such a physical sport.
“Rugby is a different sport than other sports they have played,” Maggi said. “It is so inclusive. The girls are so supportive of each other. So even though, if you’re a parent, you’re looking at this like, ‘Oh, my God, that’s way too intense or aggressive,’ that’s what makes it an amazing sport and what the players fall in love with. My biggest advice for parents is just let them give it a try. I guarantee they’re going to love it.”
Rugby has been growing in popularity among girls, building on the visibility of high-profile athletes such as Ilona Maher. Oliver Snow, Abbey’s longtime coach and head coach of the Downingtown Rugby Club, said he has seen this growth firsthand.
“It’s kind of funny now, but we used to call her ‘little baby Abbey’ because she looked so small on the field with everyone,” Snow said. “But even back then, I knew she had something special, and this exposure is going to help the sport and club grow even more than it already has. We are able to have full teams of girls playing at a competitive level. That wasn’t the same when the McGettigans began.”
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It’s been a whirlwind for Abbey, a senior at Downingtown STEM Academy. The past few months have included Youth Olympic Games trials in California as well as college recruiting and applications.
“They mailed us a big package of all this Team USA stuff when we found out we made the team, so opening that was the moment when I was like, ‘Wow, this is really happening.’ It was surreal,” she said.
The excitement for rugby doesn’t stop after the Youth Olympics, however. Abbey will join her sister in playing the sport in college, heading to Harvard next fall, while her older sister attends Brown.
“All summer, my sister and I worked out together in preparation for my camp to qualify for Team USA. She’s one of my biggest inspirations, really,” Abbey said.
Down the line, Abbey said one of her biggest goals is to play for the senior U.S. squad.
“She has this determination and motor inside of her that is unstoppable, which I’m sure we will see not only in Dakar but throughout her rugby career,” Snow said.
For now, though, Abbey’s sights are focused on the competition ahead. With her parents in the crowd and her sister cheering her on from the States, she said she feels prepared and excited for the games ahead.
“I trust all my teammates so much,” Abbey said. “Of course, I’m nervous because I’ve never competed at a level like this before, internationally, representing Team USA. But I remember all the work I’ve done and what my family and coaches have said. As long as I’m present and am where my feet are, I’m confident we will succeed.”
