MICHAELA COULTER / RUGBY

Of all of the girls coached by Mike Xuereb and Gabrielle “Gabi” Merani, Michaela Coulter is the team’s tiniest, but she’s all about the tackle.

STATUS: Ursuline Academy senior; plays for Dallas Bears Rugby.

TEAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS: State runner-up in Rugby Texas’ Division II in 2018.

HOW SHE GOT RECRUITED: “Students who are now juniors in college came to our class meeting and said, ‘Hey, join rugby. It's really fun.’ I went to the meeting and fell in love with the sport. It’s very good for letting out anger.”

TRAINING TIME: Once a week in addition to video sessions.

WHY SHE LOVES RUGBY: “People say, ‘Wow, you’re so tiny. How do you do that?’ I’m more confident. I’m like, ‘Yeah, I tackle people.’”

MEMORABLE MOMENTS: Playing with pools of mud on the field. “Ya Ya (Yajunaida Torrealba, who has since graduated) tackled someone, and they both fell in a giant puddle of water. She was completely soaked for the rest of the game. It was glorious.”

FONDEST MEMORY: Playing against Celina during the championship. “It was fun playing a team that’s on the same level as you.”

FUTURE PLANS: Kansas State, studying art and architecture.

ADVICE: “Play it. Do it. Don't be scared. Don't be in your head. It seems hard, but once you do it, once you make that first tackle, it's really not that bad, and you'll only get better by practicing it.”