Former U.S. Women's Rugby 7s Olympic team captain Abby Gustaitis enters her fourth season on the Navy women's rugby staff as an assistant coach in the fall of 2026. Gustaitis has been involved in the sport of rugby for over 16 years as a player, coach and analyst, bringing elite international experience to Annapolis.
Serving as the primary coach for the 7s squad, Gustaitis guided the Midshipmen to their winningest 7s season in program history during the 2025-26 campaign with a 14-5 record. Under her offensive direction, Navy amassed 517 total points on 88 tries and 47 conversion kicks over four tournaments.
The record-breaking spring was highlighted by a dominant championship run at the West Chester 7s Tournament. The Mids went 4-0, allowing just two tries all day and recording two shutouts, including a 41-0 victory over Penn State in the title match. Gustaitis also led Navy to a runner-up finish at the Quinnipiac 7s with a 3-1 record and a third-place finish at the Navy 7s (3-1). The Mids concluded the season by tying their best placement in program history at the Collegiate Rugby Championship Premier Women’s Cup, taking third place overall with three tournament victories.
Under Gustaitis' tutelage, junior Catherine O’Hara had a stellar spring, leading the team with 18 tries and 90 total points, including a team-high five tries at the national championship tournament. Freshman Cecilia Izquierdo also thrived in Gustaitis' system with a breakout 12-try season, while junior Mia Young paced the kicking game with 32 conversions in 7s play.
In her first season with the program (2023-24), Gustaitis led the Mids to one of their top 7s seasons in team history with an 11-3 record. Navy won the Emperor 7s title for the third-consecutive year with a 3-1 record, claiming victories over Penn State (31-0), West Chester (24-5) and Princeton (22-17). The Mids then placed second at the Frostburg 7s tournament (3-1) before capping their campaign with a third-place showing at the 7s Collegiate Championship, where they rallied from a 10-point deficit in the third-place match to defeat American International College, 14-10.
Before entering the collegiate coaching ranks, Gustaitis built a highly decorated playing career. She began competing while attending the University of Maryland and was invited to train full-time with the U.S. Women's National Team in 2015, making her debut for the 15s side later that year. She joined the Scion Rugby Academy in Washington, D.C., in 2016, captaining the team to a National Clubs 7s Championship in her first season.
Gustaitis earned a spot on the USA Women's 15s squad for the 2017 World Cup, helping guide the U.S. to a fourth-place finish in Dublin, Ireland. She subsequently transitioned primarily to 7s competition to pursue her Olympic aspirations. She represented the U.S. at the 2018 7s World Cup in San Francisco, Calif. (fourth-place finish), and was a member of the squad that captured a silver medal at the 2019 Pan American Games.
In 2019, Gustaitis helped the USA secure its first-ever gold medal in the HSBC Women's Sevens World Series in Biarritz, France, and followed it with another tournament victory on home soil in Colorado. Her international career culminated at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where she was named team captain. She led the U.S. to an undefeated mark in pool play before finishing sixth overall.
Following the Olympics, Gustaitis transitioned into a media role as a color commentator for World Rugby and a sideline reporter and analyst for NBC Sports. She concurrently played professional rugby in the Premier Rugby 7s—the first professional 7s league in North America. Playing for the Southern Headliners, she won the 2022 PR7s Championship and the 2023 PR7s East Division title, earning MVP honors. She also aided Scion Rugby Academy to another National Clubs 7s Championship in 2022.
A native of Baltimore, Md., Gustaitis graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park, with a degree in physiology and neurobiology in 2013.
