Women's Rugby Finishes Third at Quinnipiac Sevens Tournament

The Harvard women’s rugby team continued its sevens schedule this past weekend at the Quinnipiac Sevens Tournament in Hamden, Conn. The eight-team field included West Chester, AIC, Dartmouth, Norwich A, Norwich B, Quinnipiac, and Army. The Crimson went 3-2 on the day, going 2-1 in pool play before losing to Quinnipiac in the semifinals. The team would go on to beat the Norwich A squad in the Cup Consolation game, taking third at the tournament. Harvard has made it to at least the semifinals of every tournament this season.

“I’m thrilled with the team’s improvement from each tournament,” head coach Sue Parker said. “The team has had significant improvement in all facets—in execution of skills under pressure... in terms of their understanding and implementing of the gameplan, and also in their ability to manage the game as [it] is winding down.”

HARVARD, 17, NORWICH A, 5

Just last week, junior Claire Collins and senior Lydia Burns were elected the the inaugural women’s rugby All-American team. In her first tournament since, Collins sealed the final game for the Crimson to take third place. Halfway through the second half, Norwich scored to bring the game within one try at 10-5. However, Collins scored a final try off of a penalty to win the game, 17-5.

In the first half, freshman Caitlin Weigel and sophomore Dalton Youngblood each scored a try to make the game 10-0 at half. Both players had been finding the endzone frequently throughout the day. Youngblood led the team with six tries while Weigel had four. The underclassmen on the team tallied 12 of the team’s 14 scores on the day.

“It’s been really awesome having a bunch of underclassmen that are very strong,” sophomore co-captain Maya Learned said. “[The upperclassmen] are the leaders, the playmakers on the field. They might not be the ones who score the tries, but they are the ones who are setting those people up for every try.”

AIC, 10, HARVARD, 7

After going into halftime down 5-0, Harvard came out strong in the second half. Weigel scored the team’s first try of the day early in the second half, putting the Crimson up 7-5 after a successful conversion. The Crimson defense held strong until the final minutes as the Yellow Jackets punched in the go-ahead try.

HARVARD 25, ARMY 5

The Harvard offense found its legs early in the second pool play game. Fueled by Learned, Youngblood, and senior Aniebiet Abasi, the Crimson scored three tries early to go into halftime up 15-0. The onslaught continued in the second half as Weigel found the endzone two more times, extending the Crimson lead to 25. Army scored in garbage time to end the game 25-5. The win was Harvard’s first against Army.

HARVARD 22, NORWICH B, 0

Last weekend, Harvard gave up 10 points in pool play while scoring 86. Against Norwich B, the dominance continued. For the sixth time this season, the Crimson blanked its opponent. The shutout was overshadowed by Harvard’s offensive attack. Youngblood found the endzone three times in the first half, putting the Crimson up 17-0. Learned scored again early in the second half to make it 22-0, advancing the Crimson the the semifinals against Quinnipiac.

“We spend a lot of time in practice on defense, especially on tracking and tackling,” Parker said. “It has to be your bread and butter in sevens, because if you miss a tackle, it’s a score for the other team. If another team scores a try, it has the potential to impact the momentum of the game.”

QUINNIPIAC, 29, HARVARD, 5

Last week at the Crimson 7’s Tournament, Harvard was shut out by Quinnipiac, 48-0. Early in this game, it seemed as if the Crimson could pull off the upset. After going down 7-0, Youngblood successfully drove the length of the field to put Harvard within two. The Crimson was down by only one try at half, 12-5. The Quinnipiac offense was too strong, though, as the hosts pulled away early in the second frame, stringing together three scores to beat Harvard, 29-5.

—Staff writer Wade G. Player can be reached at wplayer@college.harvard.edu.