TAMPA, Florida – Trinity Western went a perfect 3-0 on Day 1 to top their pool at the Tropical 7s, with wins over Penn State, Army West Point and Harvard Friday at the Tampa Sportsplex.
Ava Van Santen scored seven tries and
Issy Scholtens scored 17 points, including six conversions and a try, to help lead TWU to first place in Pool A. TWU will now prepare to play Long Island University in the Tropical 7s quarter-finals Saturday 2:20 p.m. (ET) / 11:20 a.m. (PT), with the semifinals and finals to follow on Saturday. In their only previous meeting, TWU beat Long Island 47-0 at the 2025 Crimson 7s in Cambridge, Mass. LIU went 0-3 on Day 1 to finish fourth in Pool B.
Beyond Van Santen and Scholtens, TWU got two tries each from
Hailey Hibbs and
Kelsa Kempf while
Sierra Hamilton and
Rachel Wood scored once each.
TWU opened Day 1 with a convincing 40-0 win over Penn State. Van Santen scored three tries and added a conversion, while Hibbs dotted down twice and Hamilton tallied one try, with Scholtens kicking through four conversions.
The Spartans followed up their win over the Nittany Lions with a 22-21 win over Army West Point, with Van Santen scoring three tries and Kempf scoring once. Scholtens knocked through one conversion.
TWU's final match of the day saw the Spartans beat Harvard 24-12. Van Santen, Kempf, Scholtens and Wood scored tries, with Scholtens and Van Santen kicking one conversion apiece.
Day 1 Scoring Totals
Tries
Ava Van Santen: 7
Hailey Hibbs: 2
Kelsa Kempf: 2
Sierra Hamilton: 1
Issy Scholtens: 1
Rachel Wood: 1
Conversions
Issy Scholtens: 6
Ava Van Santen: 2
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 women's and men's disc golf. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 15 U SPORTS team championships and 35 Canada West team championships.
About Trinity Western University
Recognized for quality, TWU has received seven consecutive A+ rankings for Quality of Teaching and Learning, holds three Canada Research Chairs, and wins national championships in CIS sports. More importantly, lives are changed at TWU through its whole-person, Christ-centred approach to education. With a wide array of undergraduate, graduate, and adult degree-completion programs, TWU equips leaders of character and competence to make a positive impact in the lives of others.
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