Dan Kinvig, UFV Athletics
ABBOTSFORD, B.C. – The Victoria Vikes continued their dominance of the Canada West Women's Sevens Series, going a perfect 6-0 en route to the tourney title at the second stop on the circuit, hosted by the University of the Fraser Valley.
Playing under sunny skies at MRC Sports Complex on Sunday, the Vikes capped their run to the title with victories over the UBC Thunderbirds (31-7), UFV Cascades (57-0) and Lethbridge Pronghorns (21-19). Their overall record on the sevens series this season is 12-0, and they take a comfortable lead in the aggregate points standings into the series finale, which they'll host Feb. 24-25.
"Overall, it was a great tournament for us," Vikes coach Brittany Waters said. "A bit more inconsistent than the last tournament in Edmonton, but we were trying to implement a lot more things, so it was a bit of analysis paralysis for the girls throughout the tournament. But they executed some of the things we brought in over the last couple weeks very well. Day 2 was much better, and that's really all you can ask for.
"We're really excited to have the final tournament at UVic in front of our home crowd, and for our girls to put in another series of great performances. We're looking to improve each tournament, so we know we'll be better for the next one."
Finishing second through seventh, respectively, were the Calgary Dinos (4-2), Alberta Pandas (4-2), Lethbridge Pronghorns (3-3), UBC Thunderbirds (3-3), UFV Cascades (1-5) and Thompson Rivers WolfPack (0-6). Ties are broken based on head-to-head results.
The Pronghorns had accrued a flawless 3-0 record on Saturday, but dropped all three of their Sunday games to slip to fourth place. Their rivals from Alberta, the Dinos and Pandas, both picked up a pair of wins on Sunday – including head-to-head triumphs over the Pronghorns – to overhaul them in the tourney standings.
The tournament marked the first home event for the Cascades, who are in their second season of Canada West rugby sevens competition. They earned their first-ever win over newcomer TRU on Saturday.
"It's something we've been looking forward to since it started last year – to be able to put ourselves out in front of the UFV community, bring the local rugby supporters in and let them see why we're so excited about having rugby at UFV," Cascades head coach Jen Ross said.
"The win is great – it's a reward for all the hard work we're putting in. But it also keeps them hungry, because one win is never enough."
In the overall standings, the Vikes (20 points) hold the lead, with Calgary (14) and Lethbridge (12) their closest pursuers.
Sunday results
ROUND 5
Game 13: Calgary Dinos 19, Lethbridge Pronghorns 10
Scoring summary:
CGY: 7-12: 19
LET: 10-0: 10
• LET try – #2 Hailey Driscoll (convert missed) – 5-0
• CGY try – #8 Breanne Morgan (#6 Laura Petrillo convert) – 7-5
• LET try – #2 Hailey Driscoll (convert missed) – 10-7
Half
• CGY try – #13 Vanessa Graham (#6 Laura Petrillo convert) – 14-10
• CGY try – #9 Taejah Thompson (convert missed) – 19-10
Game 14: Alberta Pandas 43, TRU WolfPack 0
Scoring summary:
ALB: 17-26: 43
TRU: 0-0: 0
• ALB try – #21 Lora Lee (#21 Lora Lee convert) – 7-0
• ALB try – #14 Heidi Farley (convert missed) – 12-0
• ALB try – #10 Sarah Farley (convert missed) – 17-0
Half
• ALB try – #6 Courtney Holtkamp (#21 Lora Lee convert) – 24-0
• ALB try – #14 Heidi Farley (convert missed) – 29-0
• ALB try – #7 Karlie Tkachanko (#21 Lora Lee convert) – 36-0
• ALB try – #8 Elizabeth Steele (#21 Lora Lee convert) – 43-0
Game 15: Victoria Vikes 31, UBC Thunderbirds 7
Scoring summary:
VIC: 17-14: 31
UBC: 0-7: 7
• VIC try – #4 Paige Farries (convert missed) – 5-0
• VIC try – #5 Emily Belchos (#9 Kara Galbraith convert) – 12-0
• VIC try – #3 Chanelle Edwards-Challenger (convert missed) – 17-0
Half
• VIC try – #4 Paige Farries (#9 Kara Galbraith convert) – 24-0
• UBC try – #11 Shoshana Seumanutafa (#11 Shoshana Seumanutafa convert) – 24-7
• VIC try – #13 Renee Gonzalez (#9 Kara Galbraith convert) – 31-7
ROUND 6
Game 16: Alberta Pandas 27, Lethbridge Pronghorns 5
Scoring summary:
ALB: 17-10: 27
LET: 0-5: 5
• ALB try – #5 Aline Wicklum (convert missed) – 5-0
• ALB try – #5 Aline Wicklum (convert missed) – 10-0
• ALB try – #15 Alanna Fittes (#5 Aline Wicklum) – 17-0
Half
• ALB try – #14 Heidi Farley (convert missed) – 22-0
• ALB try – #5 Aline Wicklum (convert missed) – 27-0
• LET try – #5 Hannah Lopez (convert missed) – 27-5
Game 17: UBC Thunderbirds 19, Calgary Dinos 17
Scoring summary:
UBC: 7-12: 19
CGY: 12-5: 17
• CGY try – #13 Vanessa Graham (convert missed) – 5-0
• UBC try – #4 Brooke Bazian (#4 Brooke Bazian convert) – 7-5
• CGY try – #6 Laura Petrillo (#6 Lauren Petrillo convert) – 12-7
Half
• UBC try – #4 Brooke Bazian (convert missed) – 12-12
• CGY try – #13 Vanessa Graham (convert missed) – 17-12
• UBC try – #9 Alayna Scramstad (#11 Shoshana Seumanutafa convert) – 19-17
Game 18: Victoria Vikes 57, UFV Cascades 0
Scoring summary:
VIC: 29-28: 57
UFV: 0-0: 0
• VIC try – #15 McKenzie Pusch (#14 Sasha Guedes convert) – 7-0
• VIC try – #15 McKenzie Pusch (convert missed) – 12-0
• VIC try – #11 Julia Folk (#14 Sasha Guedes convert) – 19-0
• VIC try – #14 Sasha Guedes (convert missed) – 24-0
• VIC try – #15 McKenzie Pusch (convert missed) – 29-0
Half
• VIC try – #3 Chanelle Edwards-Challenger (#14 Sasha Guedes convert) – 36-0
• VIC try – #10 Jess Neilson (#10 Jess Neilson convert) – 43-0
• VIC try – #15 McKenzie Pusch (#10 Jess Neilson convert) – 50-0
• VIC try – #14 Sasha Guedes (#10 Jess Neilson convert) – 57-0
ROUND 7
Game 19: Calgary Dinos 53, TRU WolfPack 0
Scoring summary:
CGY: 22-31: 53
TRU: 0-0: 0
• CGY try – #9 Taejah Thompson (convert missed) – 5-0
• CGY try – #14 Kelcey Leavitt (convert missed) – 10-0
• CGY try – #14 Kelcey Leavitt (convert missed) – 15-0
• CGY try – #9 Taejah Thompson (#6 Laura Petrillo convert) – 22-0
Half
• CGY try – #7 Alisa Illichova (#6 Laura Petrillo convert) – 29-0
• CGY try – #15 Emmanuella Anye (convert missed) – 34-0
• CGY try – #7 Alisa Illichova (#6 Laura Petrillo convert) – 41-0
• CGY try – #7 Alisa Illichova (convert missed) – 46-0
• CGY try – #13 Vanessa Graham (#6 Laura Petrillo convert) – 53-0
Game 20: UBC Thunderbirds 53, UFV Cascades 0
Scoring summary:
UBC: 12-33: 45
UFV: 0-0: 0
• UBC try – #7 Ciara Malone (convert missed) – 5-0
• UBC try – #10 Nicole Mallow (#4 Brooke Bazian convert) – 12-0
Half
• UBC try – #7 Ciara Malone (#4 Brooke Bazian convert) – 19-0
• UBC try – #7 Ciara Malone (convert missed) – 24-0
• UBC try – #4 Brooke Bazian (#4 Brooke Bazian convert) – 31-0
• UBC try – Penalty try (#4 Brooke Bazian convert) – 38-0
• UBC try – #7 Ciara Malone (#4 Brooke Bazian convert) – 45-0
Game 21: Victoria Vikes 21, Lethbridge Pronghorns 19
Scoring summary:
VIC: 21-0: 21
LET: 0-19: 19
• VIC try – #5 Emily Belchos (#9 Kara Galbraith convert) – 7-0
• VIC try – #2 Gurpreet Dhaliwal (#9 Kara Galbraith convert) – 14-0
• VIC try – #5 Emily Belchos (#9 Kara Galbraith convert) – 21-0
Half
• LET try – #3 Carolyn McKee (#4 Caitlin Sears convert) – 21-7
• LET try – #9 Abby Neudorf (convert missed) – 21-12
• LET try – #5 Hannah Lopez (#5 Hanna Lopez convert) – 21-19
Tournament standings – Final
TEAM WINS LOSSES TIES POINTS
VIC 6 0 0 24
CGY 4 2 0 18
ALB 4 2 0 18
LET 3 3 0 15
UBC 3 3 0 15
UFV 1 5 0 9
TRU 0 6 0 6
NOTE: Teams are awarded four points for a win, two points for a draw, and one point for a loss. Ties are broken based on head-to-head records.
Overall series standings
Team / Tourney 1 pts / Tourney 2 pts / Total pts
VIC – 10 / 10 / 20 pts
CGY – 6 / 8 / 14 pts
LET – 8 / 4 / 12 pts
ALB – 2 / 6 / 8 pts
UBC – 4 / 2 / 6 pts
UFV – 1 / 1 / 2 pts
TRU – NA / 0 / 0 pts
About the Canada West Women's Rugby Sevens Series
2018 marks the second season of the Canada West Women's Rugby Sevens Series, which has been made possible thanks to Canada West's partnership with B2ten and Rugby Canada.
Through their joint support, which will include scholarship opportunities for players at all six competing institutions, B2ten and Rugby Canada are committed to helping Canadian female athletes pursue their athletic careers, including an opportunity to progress to the national team.
The Canada West Women's Rugby Sevens Series champion will be crowned Feb. 25 at the University of Victoria, as determined by cumulative series points.
2018 Canada West Women's Rugby Sevens Series tournament dates: University of Alberta (Jan. 20-21), University of the Fraser Valley (Feb. 10-11) and University of Victoria (Feb. 24-25).