At 29, Raptor Women’s fly half and playmaker Hannah Stolba has enjoyed a life that makes any Discovery Channel adventure series look tame. Born and raised in Missoula, Mont., she has worked in a dogsled facility in northern Minnesota, driven a Honda CBR600RR motorcycle across 1,600 miles of the United States, been capped three times for the Women’s Eagles and has a fascinating understanding and love of dogs.
Stolba’s abilities are bountiful and her interests are not what you would expect. While she has a keen interest in woodwork to the extent that she made her own bed frame, she is just as enthusiastic about musical theater and classifies “Wicked” as her all-time favorite. “’Dirty Dancing’ is at the top of my list of favorite movies,” chuckles Stolba as she quickly backs that statement up, “but I do enjoy a good comedy, too.”
Having spent four years at Minnesota State University, Mankato on a basketball scholarship (scoring over 1,000 points), it was no surprise when Stolba revealed that the meal she most enjoys is steak and potatoes. Somehow, that seems to coincide with her choice of music — it happens to be country, and there is also evidence of an appreciation for the blues.
What piques one’s interest about Hannah the most though, is her unusual vacation destination choice — Iceland! However, when you know that one of her majors at college was recreation, parks and leisure services, it is not difficult to understand why. Stolba clearly has an interest and love for the outdoors, and the beauty that various and different landscapes offer. Hannah intends to hike the entire multi-state, national Appalachian Trail, which she reckons will take her six months to complete. But what adds a cherry to the top of this revelation is that Stolba intends to shave all her hair off, prior to commencing on this epic trek — all in the name of cancer research.
But with all these interests, hobbies and adventures, one thing has stayed close to Hannah’s heart, and that is rugby. So much so that her life has always been revolved around allowing her the opportunity to pursue her love of rugby which began while she was a freshman “redshirt” at the University of Northern Iowa, prior to her transfer to MSU.
Stolba’s athleticism enabled her to grasp the game of rugby quickly and she rose admirably in the rugby ranks in a short space of time, representing the United States in developmental teams, U23s and finally in the national team where her first cap was against England.
Nowadays, Stolba is balancing her time between a job that she loves at DaVita (a leading provider of kidney care) in downtown Denver, her dogs Smudge and Phinn, and her passion — rugby! This week, Stolba is attending USA Rugby’s Women’s High Performance Camp in Lakeland, Fla. Her five-year goal is to make the 2014 Women’s Rugby World Cup and this elite camp will lay the foundation. Tattooed in small but visible print on the inside of her left wrist are the words “Carpe diem,” a tribute to her father who passed away when she was just 7 and a reminder that it is up to her to get the job done. Stolba’s sights are set and if anyone can seize the day, Stolba can.
