VIKES AND THUNDERBIRDS TAKE LEAD AFTER DAY 1 IN EDMONTON

EDMONTON – The Victoria Vikes and UBC Thunderbirds each took control of day one of the University of Alberta Rugby 7s Tournament with perfect 3-0 records, as the Canada West Rugby 7s season got underway  in The Dome at Foote Field in Edmonton. Both west coast schools showed flashes of dominance on Saturday with three wins, as they each earned the maximum 12 points.

Victoria, thanks to nine tries from first-year Vike, and former Alberta Panda Paige Farries, earned wins over Fraser Valley (52-0), Lethbridge (42-14), and Calgary (34-14) on Saturday.

“Great start to the tournament, and a great start to our rugby 7s season,” said Vikes head coach Brittany Waters. “We were still a bit rusty in some areas, moving from 15s to 7s, but overall a great performance from our girls today.”

Farries’ nine tries are a single-day Canada West Rugby 7s record, surpassing the record of seven set last season (Elysa Sandron – CGY; Ciara Malone – UBC). The Red Deer, Alberta product suited up in one season for the Pandas (2012-13), before making the transition to 7s and joining the Vikes in 2018. 

“Paige was excellent today. She has a lot of experience, so not a typical first-year recruit. We had a solid team last year when we won nationals, and a lot of those players returned, and we added a great crop of first-year players like Paige. The recruits have really fit in well, and even raised the level of our whole team this season.”

UBC, who finished fourth in the 7s series last season with a 5-7 overall record, nearly matched their win output from last season on Friday, as they knocked off Calgary (26-14), Fraser Valley (22-12), and the host Pandas (24-7). With both UBC and UVic earning three wins on Friday, it sets up a dream matchup early on Sunday morning between the two provincial rivals.

The Lethbridge Pronghorns ended day one with a pair of victories, as they head into Day 2 in third place with nine points. Calgary (6 pts), Fraser Valley (3 pts), and Alberta (3 pts) rounded out the first-day standings.

The host Pandas never found their footing on the opening day at Foote Field, falling behind early in each of their three games, including falling behind by multiple scores in their losses to Calgary and UBC.

The final day of the opening tournament will get underway at 10:00 a.m. MST when UBC and Victoria clash, followed by Lethbridge (2-1) vs. Calgary (1-2) at 10:25 a.m. and Fraser Valley (0-3) vs. Alberta (2-1) at 10:50 a.m. All nine games tomorrow will be streamed live on Facebook.com/BearsandPandas

Round 1 

Game 1: Fraser Valley Cascades (0) vs. Victoria Vikes (52)

Scoring summary:

UFV: 0-0: 0

VIC: 35-17: 52

VIC try – #5 Emily Belchos (#9 Kara Galhraith Convert) – 7-0

VIC try – #3 Chanelle Edwards-Challenger (#9 Kara Galhraith Convert) – 14-0

VIC try – #5 Emily Belchos (#9 Kara Galhraith Convert) – 21-0
VIC try – #4 Paige Farries (#9 Kara Galhraith Convert) – 28-0
VIC try – #4 Paige Farries (#9 Kara Galhraith Convert) – 35-0

Half-time

VIC try – #4 Paige Farries (Convert missed) – 40-0
VIC try – #4 Paige Farries (Convert missed) – 45-0
VIC try – #8 Gabby Senft (#9 Kara Galhraith Convert) – 52-0

Game 2: Lethbridge Pronghorns (26) vs. Alberta Pandas (21)

Scoring summary:

LET: 19-7: 26

ALB: 7-14: 21

LET try – #3 Genna Wright (#4 Caitlin Sears Convert) – 7-0

ALB try – #13 Ferris Sandboe (#24 Ali Wicklum Convert) – 7-7

LET try – #4 Caitlin Sears (convert missed) – 12-7
LET try – #2 Hailey Driscoll (#4 Caitlin Sears Convert) – 19-7

Half-time

LET try – #2 Hailey Driscoll (#4 Caitlin Sears Convert) – 26-7
ALB try – #13 Ferris Sandboe (#24 Ali Wicklum Convert) – 26-14

ALB try – #11 Jamie Braybrook (#24 Ali Wicklum Convert) – 26-21

Game 3: UBC Thunderbirds (26) vs. Calgary Dinos (14)

Scoring summary:

UBC: 14-12: 26

CGY: 0-14: 14

UBC try – #5 Brenna Aikens (#11 Shoshanah Seumanutafa Convert) – 7-0

UBC try – #6 Madison Gold (#4 Brooke Bazian Convert) – 14-0

Half-time

UBC try – #6 Madison Gold (Convert missed) – 19-0
CGY try – #7 Vanessa Graham (#10 Berlyn Seselja Convert) – 19-7
CGY try – #4 Kasselle Menin (#10 Berlyn Seselja Convert) – 19-14
UBC try – #7 Ciara Malone (#4 Brooke Bazian Convert) – 26-14

Round 2

Game 4: Victoria Vikes (42) vs. Lethbridge Pronghorns (14)

Scoring summary:

VIC: 28-14: 42

LET: 7-7: 14

LET try – #6 Brittany Orr (#4 Caitlin Sears Convert) – 7-0

VIC try – #4 Paige Farries (#9 Kara Galhraith Convert) – 7-7

VIC try – #4 Paige Farries (#9 Kara Galhraith Convert) – 14-7
VIC try – #5 Emily Belchos (#9 Kara Galhraith Convert) – 21-7
VIC try – #4 Paige Farries (#9 Kara Galhraith Convert) – 28-7

Half-time

LET try – #2 Hailey Driscoll (#5 Hannah Lopez Convert) – 28-14
VIC try – #4 Paige Farries (#9 Kara Galhraith Convert) – 35-14
VIC try – #10 Jess Neilson (#9 Kara Galhraith Convert) – 42-14

Game 5: Fraser Valley Cascades (12) vs. UBC Thunderbirds (22)

Scoring summary:

UFV: 7-5: 12

UBC: 10-12: 22

UFV try - #3 Natalie Teteris (#2 Mackenzie Fowler Convert) 7-0

UBC try – #4 Brooke Bazian (Convert missed) – 7-5

UBC try – #1 Emily Baker (Convert missed) – 10-7

Half-time

UFV try – #1 Jaylene Soegard (Convert missed) – 12-10
UBC try – #15 Delaney Aikens (#4 Brooke Bazian Convert) – 17-12
UBC try – #15 Delaney Aikens (Convert missed) – 22-12

Game 6: Alberta Pandas (19) vs. Calgary Dinos (31)

Scoring summary:

ALB: 5-14: 19

CGY: 19-12: 31

CGY try – #14 Kelcey Leavitt (#10 Berlyn Seselja Convert) – 7-0

CGY try – #9 Taejah Thompson (Convert missed) – 12-0
ALB try - #11 Jamie Braybrook (Convert missed) - 12-7
CGY try – #14 Kelcey Leavitt (#10 Berlyn Seselja Convert) – 19-7

Half-time

ALB try - #11 Jamie Braybrook (#24 Ali Wicklum Convert) - 19-12
ALB try - #6 Alexa Martin (#24 Ali Wicklum Convert) - 19-19
CGY try – #9 Taejah Thompson (#6 Laura Petrillo Convert) – 26-19
CGY try – #7 Vanessa Graham (#6 Laura Petrillo Convert) – 31-19

Round 3

Game 7: Fraser Valley Cascades (0) vs. Lethbridge Pronghorns (50)

Scoring summary:

UFV: 0-0: 0

LET: 26-24: 50

LET try – #10 Carolyn McKee (#5 Hannah Lopez Convert) – 7-0

LET try – #8 Sydney De La Mare (#5 Hannah Lopez Convert) – 14-0

LET try - #6 Brittany Orr (#5 Hannah Lopez Convert) – 21-0
LET try – #10 Carolyn McKee (Convert missed) – 26-0

Half-time

LET try - #5 Hannah Lopez (#5 Hannah Lopez Convert) – 33-0
LET try - #6 Brittany Orr (Convert missed) – 38-0
LET try – #10 Carolyn McKee (Convert missed) – 43-0

LET try - #7 Emiola Olalekan (#4 Caitlin Sears Convert) – 50-0

Game 8: UBC Thunderbirds (24) vs. Alberta Pandas (7)

Scoring summary:

UBC: 12-12: 24

ALB: 0-7: 7

UBC try – #15 Delaney Aikens (#4 Brooke Bazian Convert) – 7-0

UBC try – #10 Nicole Mallow (Convert missed) – 12-0

Half-time

ALB try - #25 Alanna Fittes (#24 Ali Wicklum Convert) – 12-7
UBC try – #15 Delaney Aikens (#4 Brooke Bazian Convert) – 19-7

UBC try – #2 Lyric Atchison (Convert missed) – 24-7

Game 9: Victoria Vikes (34) vs. Calgary Dinos (14)

Scoring summary:

VIC: 17-17: 34

CGY: 7-7: 14

VIC try – #5 Emily Belchos (Convert missed) – 5-0
VIC try – #1 Madison Aberg (#5 Emily Belchos Convert) – 12-0
CGY try – #9 Taejah Thompson (#10 Berlyn Seselja Convert) – 12-7
VIC try – #8 Gabby Senft (Convert missed) – 17-7

Half-time

VIC try – #5 Emily Belchos (Convert missed) – 22-7
VIC try – #7 Jennifer Appleby (Convert missed) – 27-7
CGY try – #6 Laura Petrillo (#10 Berlyn Seselja Convert) – 27-14
VIC try – #4 Paige Farries (#9 Kara Galhraith Convert) – 34-14

Tournament standings

            W        L          T          Pts.

VIC      3          0          0          12

UBC     3          0          0          12

LET      2          1          0          9

CGY     1          2          0          6

UFV     0          3          0          3

ALB     0          3          0          3

NOTE: Teams are awarded 4 pts. for a win, 2 pts. for a draw, and 1 pt. for a loss.

About the Canada West Women's Rugby Sevens Series:

2018 marks the second season of the Canada West Women's Rugby Sevens Series, which has been made possible thanks to Canada West's partnership with B2ten and Rugby Canada.

Through their joint support, which will include scholarship opportunities for players at all six competing institutions, B2ten and Rugby Canada are committed to helping Canadian female athletes pursue their athletic careers, including an opportunity to progress to the national team.

The Canada West Women's Rugby Sevens Series champion will be crowned February 25 at the University of Victoria, as determined by cumulative series points.

2018 Canada West Women's Rugby Sevens Series tournament dates: University of Alberta (Jan. 20-21), University of the Fraser Valley (Feb. 10 and 11) and University of Victoria (Feb. 24 and 25).