HOUSTON, Texas - Seeded 11th of the 16 teams at the CRAA/USA Rugby 7s National Championship, the American International College women's rugby team defied expectations, finishing second in Pool C on Saturday, May 6, and then shocking two high-powered opponents en route to a fifth-place finish and a Plate Championship win on Sunday, May 7.
AIC's road started on Saturday with the tournament favorites, Lindenwood University, in the pool play opener. The Lions showed why they were projected to win, defeating AIC 38-5, with Morgan Schechter scoring AIC's try late in the first half.
That set up the second pool play match, a must-win for AIC, against rival Sacred Heart University. The teams had split previous regular season meetings, and they made it to halftime tied 7-7, with Venise Sanft scoring for AIC. In the second half, however, the Yellow Jackets jumped early with a Jessica Berggren try, and Louisa Justice touched down over the line late to seal a 19-7 victory.
The University of California-Berkeley was all that stood in the way of AIC's advance to the knockout stage, and the Bears proved no match for a talented Yellow Jacket attack. Schechter scored two early tries and Ivana Kiripati added one to give AIC a huge halftime lead that only expanded with a try by Annekkia Ritter-Truxal and two tries plus a conversion by Venise Sanft. The 32-0 win gave AIC the second seed in Pool C.
In the Cup Quarterfinal, AIC faced a strong Harvard University side. The Crimson held AIC off the board, defeating the Yellow Jackets 32-0.
The loss moved AIC into the Plate bracket, and on Sunday morning they kicked off against Central Washington University. That game was Schechter's time to shine, as she scored three tries. The defense did enough to keep the Wildcats at bay despite a stoppage-time try for the opposition, with the final favoring AIC 15-14.
It was at this point that Mother Nature intervened, as the skies opened up in Houston; what should have been a start just after 11:00 a.m. locally for the Plate Final between the Yellow Jackets and Army West Point was pushed back by three hours.
The delay was the first drama in a match defined by it. Sanft scored first for the Yellow Jackets but Army answered, and two tries late in the half sent the Black Knights to the benches with a significant lead. It seemed as if the Yellow Jackets were destined for defeat, but the defiant squad rallied, with Sanft and Berggren landing late tries, the latter in the waning moments of regulation, to tie the score at 19-19 and force an unexpected overtime.
In the extra session, the Black Knights drove inside the 22-meter line, but a knock-on put the ball in AIC's hands. The Yellow Jackets used their speed to push up the field, and ultimately drew a yellow card. A second card then put AIC up 7-on-5 and the team took full advantage, moving from the left side to the middle and scoring the golden try to win the contest as Kiripati put down behind the line to win the match and the Plate.
