EDMONTON – With two teams entered into the Alberta 7s Tournament, Trinity Western's women's rugby teams picked up one win from four outings, while scoring 12 tries on the day at the Foote Field Dome Saturday. 

TWU's 'A' side earned a 40-5 win over Regina before a 20-15 setback against Calgary, while the TWU 'B' side lost to Alberta 25-5 and dropped a 25-0 decision against Lethbridge. 

Danika Dool (Chilliwack, B.C.), Sophia Belsher (Abbotsford, B.C.), Ashley Jacob (Surrey, B.C.) and Stephanie Chan-Dunford (Edmonton) scored two tries apiece over the course of the day, while Niki Duchesne (Surrey, B.C.), Jenna de Greef (Victoria), Issy Scholtens (Langley, B.C.) and Serenity Ukponrefe (Langley) dotted down once each. 

The competition marked the second runout of the fall semester for TWU, having played a series of split-squad games against Fraser Valley in early November.

AS IT HAPPENED 
Opening against Alberta, TWU 'B' put together a quality effort, but came up a few tries short, with Duchesne being the lone try-scorer for the Spartans. 

TWU 'A' were the better side against Regina from the outset, with Jacob and Chan-Dunford scoring twice while Dool, Belsher, de Greef and Ukponrefe tallied once each. TWU held the run of play, with Regina scoring late at the end of both halves. 

Despite a few strong runs from Duchesne against Lethbridge, the Spartans were held off the scoreboard in a loss to the Pronghorns. 

In the final game of the day, the Spartans Dool, Scholtens and Belsher scored against Calgary, but the TWU 'A' side were forced to settle for a five-point loss. 

QUOTABLE
TWU Head Coach Andrew Evans 
"We were looking to knock the rust off and this tournament has been great for us. Our team is playing with a lot of guts and played a lot of rugby today, after travelling here and having not played a lot of games since the end of 2020. This is going to be very beneficial for us moving forward."

NOTABLE
•    TWU closed the gap considerably since the last time the Spartans played against Calgary, which was in the 2020 Canada West Sevens Series, when TWU lost 33-7.
•    Entering the weekend, the Spartans had previously played Alberta and Calgary three times each and Lethbridge twice – all in the 2020 Canada West Sevens Series. 
•    TWU will be seeking its first-ever win against the aforementioned Canada West trio when the Spartans 'A' side plays Alberta and Lethbridge Sunday. 

NEXT UP
The Spartans will play in four more games Sunday, with TWU 'B' playing Calgary (11:20 a.m. MT) and Regina (12:20 p.m. MT) and TWU 'A' taking on Alberta (12 p.m. MT) and Lethbridge (1 p.m. MT).

About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 13 sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball, hockey, cross country and track & field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes as an independent team in men's rugby. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 12 U SPORTS team championships and 29 Canada West team championships.

-TW-