LANGLEY, British Columbia –Trinity Western fourth-year centre/wing Ava Van Santen (Aldergrove, B.C.) is the Spartans Female Athlete of the Week after helping to lead the Spartans to a tournament championship at the Tropical 7's tournament in Tampa, Florida.
 
The psychology student finished the tournament with 14 tries and two conversions as TWU finished the tournament unbeaten at 6-0 to claim the tournament title. Along the way to the gold medal, the Spartans defeated Penn State 44-0, Army 22-21, Harvard 24-12, Long Island 54-7, Army 33-12 in the semifinal, and Life 12-10 in the championship match.
 
The Tropical 7's tournament is the final competition of the 2025-26 season for the Van Santen and the Spartans.
 
About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 11 sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball, hockey, and track & field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes in the NAIA in track and field, cross country, and 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 34 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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