Trinity Western’s first-year women’s rugby sevens program finished sixth at the Vancouver stop of the Canada West Rugby 7s Series, after beating UBC Okanagan in the consolation semifinal before losing to Calgary in the fifth-place match Sunday at Thunderbird Stadium.
The result marks the second straight tournament the Spartans have finished sixth, having also lost to Calgary in the fifth-place match two weeks ago in Edmonton.
The Spartans exploded for their biggest offensive output in program history against the Heat, scoring six tries in a 38-0 win. In the fifth-place match, the Spartans lost 33-7.
On the day, Sammi Thiessen (Abbotsford, B.C.) finished with two tries, while Issy Scholtens (Langley, B.C.), Ashley Jacob (South Surrey, B.C.), Laralee Gadsby (Kitchener, Ont.), Madison Fleischer (Bellevue, Wash.) and Tausani Levale (Abbotsford) each scored one. Levale finished the day with five conversions on seven opportunities.
TWU 38 UBC Okanagan 0
Thiessen opened the scoring against the Heat with back-to-back tries, setting the tone for the rest of the game. From there, TWU rolled to a win, with Gadsby scoring her first try as a Spartan and Jacob and Fleischer scoring their first-ever tries in the sport of rugby
Calgary 33 TWU 7
Calgary scored early, but Levale responded with an impressive individual try, running through a number of defenders before touching down under the posts. However, the Dinos scored twice before the break to go ahead 19-7. The second half saw Calgary tally a pair of converted tries to round out the scoring.
QUOTABLE
Tausani Levale, team captain
“I’m so proud of the team’s efforts today. We started the day off with a huge win against UBCO with many girls scoring their first tries. I’m so happy to see the team breaking away, full stride, and with the way today went, I just can’t wait to go at it again in Victoria.”
Kate Fedoruk
“I think we really came together as a cohesive unit this tournament. Obviously we are still learning as this is a fresh program but placing in 6th just shows that we can hold our ground and continue to grind.”
UP NEXT
The next and final tournament of the Canada West 7s Series is Feb. 29 and Mar. 30 at the University of Victoria.
DAY 2 – TWU RESULTS
Consolation Semifinal 2: Trinity Western Spartans (38) vs UBC Okanagan (0)
Scoring summary:
1 2 T
TWU: 24 14 38
UBCO: 0 0 0
TWU try – #9 Samantha Thiessen (convert missed) 5-0 TWU
TWU try – #9 Samantha Thiessen (#5 Tausani Levale convert) 12-0 TWU
TWU try – #7 Isabelle Scholtens (#5 Tausani Levale convert) 19-0 TWU
TWU try – #2 Ashley Jacob (convert missed) 24-0 TWU
HALF
TWU try – #4 Laralee Gadsby (#5 Tausani Levale convert) 31-0 TWU
TWU try – #1 Madison Fleischer (#5 Tausani Levale convert) 38-0 TWU
5th Place Game: Calgary Dinos (33) vs. Trinity Western Spartans (7)
Scoring summary:
1 2 T
CGY: 19 14 33
TWU: 7 0 7
CGY try – #11 Paige Miller (#15 Berlyn Seselja convert) 7-0 CGY
TWU try – #5 Tausani Levale (#5 Tausani Levale convert) 7-7
CGY try – #1 Emma Newton (#15 Berlyn Seselja convert) 14-7 CGY
CGY try – #3 Kasselle Menin (convert missed) 19-7 CGY
HALF
CGY try – #14 Kate Knight (#10 Patricia Lively convert) 26-7 CGY
CGY try – #13 Laura Petrillo (#10 Patricia Lively convert) 33-7 CGY
DAY 1 – TWU RESULTS
Game 4: Lethbridge Pronghorns (22) vs. Trinity Western Spartans (0)
Scoring summary:
1 2 T
LET: 12 10 22
TWU: 0 0 0
LET Try – #11 Janelle Agot (Convert missed) 5-0 LET
LET Try – #7 Christina Norsten (#11 Janelle Agot convert) 12-0 LET
HALF
LET Try – #24 Abby Duguid (Convert missed) 17-0 LET
LET Try – #6 Rebecca Powell (Convert missed) 22-0 LET
Game 7: Alberta Pandas (31) vs Trinity Western Spartans (5)
Scoring summary:
1 2 T
ALB: 14 17 31
TWU: 0 5 5
ALB Try – #12 Cassie Jorgenson (#14 Heidi Peake convert) 7-0 ALB
ALB Try – #10 Lora Lee (#14 Heidi Peake convert) 14-0 ALB
HALF
TWU Try – #6 Kate Fedoruk (Convert missed) 14-5 ALB
ALB Try – #8 Courtney Holtkamp (#14 Heidi Peake convert) 21-5 ALB
ALB Try – #6 Savannah Dubien (Convert missed) 26-5 ALB
ALB Try – #7 Isabella Adatia (Convert missed) 31-5 ALB
Game 12: Trinity Western Spartans (19) vs Fraser Valley Cascades (15)
Scoring summary:
1 2 T
TWU: 5 14 19
UFV: 10 5 15
TWU Try – #7 Isabelle Scholtens (Convert missed) 5-0 TWU
UFV Try – #6 Melissa Jongedijk (Convert missed) 5-5
UFV Try – #14 Kira Katan (Convert missed) 10-5 UFV
HALF
TWU Try – #7 Isabelle Scholtens (#5 Tausani Levale convert) 12-10 TWU
TWU Try – #5 Tausani Levale (#5 Tausani Levale convert) – 19-10 TWU
UFV Try – #2 Mackenzie Fowler (Convert missed) 19-15 TWU
Final Tournament Standings
TEAM WINS LOSSES TIES POINTS
VIC 5 0 0 15
UBC 3 2 0 12
ALB 3 2 0 10
LET 3 2 0 8
CGY 3 2 0 6
TWU 2 3 0 4
UFV 1 4 0 2
UBCO 0 5 0 1
