TAMPA, Florida – Trinity Western had an historically successful afternoon to open their Tropical 7s campaign, winning all three of their pool play contests, beating Army West Point, Clemson and Dartmouth to top their pool Friday at the Tampa Sportsplex.
With the 3-0 record in pool play, the Spartans advanced as one of the top three seeds in the U23/University Women's Elite division and will face Quinnipiac University in the Championship Quarter-Finals Saturday at 1 p.m. (ET) / 10 a.m. (PT).
Playing in the Tropical 7s for the first time in program history, the Spartans beat Army West Point 29-0, before knocking off Clemson 44-0 and Dartmouth 28-10. The results mark the first time TWU's women's rugby 7s program has finished the first day of a tournament with a 3-0 record.
Ava Van Santen (Abbotsford, B.C.) finished the day with seven tries, including a tournament-opening hat-trick against Army West Point.
Danika Dool (Chilliwack, B.C.) and
Jenna de Greeff (Victoria) had three tries each, while
Vlada Shevchenko (Delta, B.C.),
Sara Eskildsen (Mexico City) and Michelle Veerman (White Rock, B.C.) dotted down once apiece.
Issy Scholtens (Langley, B.C.) and de Greeff had three conversions each, with Veerman slotting one conversion.
QUOTABLE
Andrew Evansx – TWU Director of Rugby
"Today was a tremendous day for the Spartans. Coach Posé Seumanutafa spoke of courage as the word of the day and Trinity Western brought it all day in the heat.
"Defense led the way as we made some devastating hits on all three teams that we played today. Only conceding 10 points through three games is very impressive. Also to get wins over some fantastic programs is very encouraging.
"On attack we had great precision, which allowed us to score on the edges and up the middle once gaps started to appear. The women put in so much effort today and it is very pleasing to see it rewarded with many tries."
UP NEXT
The Spartans will play Quinnipiac in the Championship Quarter-Finals at 1 p.m. (ET). The winner will play in the Championship Semifinals at 2:40 p.m. (ET), with the loser playing in the Plate Semifinal at 2:40 p.m. (PT). The Championship Final is at 4:40 p.m. (ET).
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 and disc golf. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 13 U SPORTS team championships and 32 Canada West team championships.
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