BOYDS, Maryland - A packed trophy case will need to be rearranged to fit even more hardware as the American International College women's rugby team won its second national title in the academic year, dominating National Collegiate Rugby's 2026 National 7s College Rugby Championship across the weekend of April 25-26.
The Yellow Jackets thumped Walsh University 42-0 and the University of New Haven 53-12 to advance through the early rounds and defeated Southern Nazarene University 31-12 in the semifinal before dethroning the three-time defending champions from Brown University 24-7 in the title game.
AIC flattened Walsh from start to finish in the opening contest, with
Naomi Dodd scoring the first try just 18 seconds into the game. She was one of seven players with AIC's eight total tries in the match, as
Mahina Hafoka was the lone two-try scorer in a contest that saw AIC spread its offense out evenly.
Kiyanah Edwards netted seven points on a try and a conversion.
Connecticut native
Morgan Schechter opened the scoring against the Chargers in similar fashion just 31 seconds in. New Haven did bounce back to tie the score briefly, but AIC built to a 24-5 edge by halftime and continued to pile on in the rout. Schechter,
SaTya Miller, and Edwards each notched two tries, with Edwards also converting once, while
Camryn Henderson scored one try and two conversions and
Venise Sanft notched one and one for seven points.
Into the second day and the semifinals, AIC continued to score early and often, with Dodd putting down 1:08 into the match with Southern Nazarene. Though the Crimson Storm were able to tie things just over a minute later, AIC rattled off crucial tries late in the half, with Schechter and Dodd each putting up five points and Sanft kicking a conversion through for a 19-7 halftime edge. Sanft and Edwards added second-half tries to counter an early strike by the Crimson Storm for the 31-12 win and AIC's first ever title-game berth.
In that title game, AIC faced off against the three-time defending champions, Brown University. The Bears had not conceded any points in the tournament, having downed the University of Connecticut 38-0, West Chester University 36-0, and the United States Naval Academy 24-0. The Yellow Jackets had to contend with that, but knew they had the more potent offense.
True to form, the quick strike worked. Schechter again touched the ball down just 38 seconds in, and Henderson converted for a quick 7-0 lead. That held until the final minute of the first half, when the Bears broke through and tied the match, leaving seven minutes to decided a national title.
The Yellow Jackets needed to hit again, and Miller was the one to answer the call, dodging her way into the try zone 1:48 into the half. Dodd then scored another try at 11:30, with Sanft converting to give AIC breathing room. That put all the pressure on the Bears, and in stoppage time AIC was able to add one more try, as Miller scored 44 seconds deep into the extra play, sealing AIC's first sevens crown.
Dodd won the tournament's Most Valuable Player honors, her second championship MVP with the Yellow Jackets after winning the 2024 National Intercollegiate Rugby Association's Tournament MVP by leading AIC to its second 15s national championship against Davenport University with two tries. She and Edwards were named to the All-Tournament Team; Dodd earned that honor for a second consecutive year.
"A lot of teamwork, a lot of family, a lot of connection. This, I owe to these ladies right here, because without them I wouldn't be here," said Dodd in a post-match interview of the MVP selection, pointing at her teammates and adding, "I love my team and I love AIC."
Of the weekend and winning it all, she said "We come on the field together, and we leave together...Brown gave us a fight, all the teams gave us a fight, and we're thankful for it; without that we wouldn't know what to grow with or what to work on. But we did what we needed to do."
