TAMPA, Florida – Trinity Western is coming home with a silver medal from the Tropical 7s tournament after winning five from six contests over two days in the U23/University Women's Elite division at the Tampa Sportsplex.
The Spartans, who were playing in the Tropical 7s for the first time, beat Quinnipiac University 33-5 in the quarter-finals on Saturday, before earning a ticket to the final with a 17-14 semifinal win over Brown University. In the final, TWU lost 17-7 against Harvard University.
TWU's 5-1 tournament record marks the Spartans best-ever result at a sevens tournament. The event saw the Spartans also earn wins over Army West Point (29-0), Clemson University (44-0) and Dartmouth University (28-10) in pool play on Friday.
Over the course of Saturday's playoffs contests,
Issy Scholtens (Langley, B.C.) and
Jenna de Greeff (Victoria) scored three tries each, while
Ava Van Santen (Abbotsford, B.C.) had two tries, including TWU's lone score in the final, and
Danika Dool (Chilliwack, B.C.) added one try. Scholtens, de Greeff and Michelle Veerman (White Rock, B.C.) slotted two conversions each.
Van Santen finished the tournament with a team-leading nine tries, while de Greeff had six, Dool had four and Scholtens had three.
Vlada Shevchenko (Delta, B.C.),
Sara Eskildsen (Mexico City) and Veerman tallied once each. Scholtens and de Greeff had five conversions each, with Veerman knocking through three conversions for the tournament.
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Pose Seumanutafa – TWU Head Coach
"The women did great this weekend. I am so proud of them. The courage they showed throughout the whole tournament was outstanding. They represented TWU well on and off the field."
Andrew Evans – TWU Director of Rugby
"God has done more than we could ask or expect in our women's rugby program. We wanted to challenge ourselves in the Tropical 7s Elite women's division and give our best efforts.
"Our captain
Issy Scholtens is a complete leader who helped spur on the Spartans to a 5-1 record and a close loss in the final against Harvard. As she graduates, she will leave an amazing legacy, taking the Spartans from a fledgling program to an elite contender."
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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