ELLENSBURG, Wash.- The Central Washington University women's rugby team will travel North this week to compete at the Vancouver Sevens Rugby Festival.
"There is a renewed sense of energy within the team at the prospect of traveling up to Vancouver, BC for what should be a tough tournament," CWU Interim Head Coach
Trevor Richards said. "There will be some stiff Canadian competition and our Wildcat women will be looking to shake off some of the off-season cobwebs that started to collect over the last couple of months. With our limited preparation, I am hardly expecting flawless execution, however, I am looking for maximum output from the 12 that have been selected to travel. Thankfully we've got some experienced players to drive the team around the park, but at the end of the day, it will undoubtedly be a gut check to every athlete to see how far they can push themselves. Sevens is an unforgiving game and anything can happen but we will just take it one game at a time. We're just excited to get this show on the road."
The Wildcats will compete in the NextGen Division, where they are scheduled to play four fixtures on Thursday, March 8. CWU will kick off pool play against the University of Regina at 9:44 AM PST. The Wildcats will then face BC Rugby (1:02 PM), University of Victoria (2:30 PM), and the University of Saskatchewan (3:58 PM).
Friday will feature a pair of semi-final matches at 11:56 AM, followed by the championship at 4:22 PM. A live stream will be available for Friday's matches
here.
The Wildcats are coming off a successful 15s campaign that featured an NIRA semifinal appearance. Central Washington returns a solid core from last season's third-place finish at the 2017 College Sevens National Championship. Returning to the sevens' pitch will be a handful of talented seniors including
Jennifer Johnson,
Emma Leonard, Sammantha Pinson,
Kayla Postula and
Ashley Rolsma. They will be joined by
Leah Ingold,
Yana Manoa,
Joanna Moreira,
Spencer Boldt,
Paige Wyatt, and
Hannah Fallon.
FESTIVAL INFORMATION
BC Rugby will host the 2018 Vancouver Rugby Festival to complement the HSBC Canada Sevens Vancouver Tournament. Taking place on March 8th & 9th, the Festival is the ideal stage for elite teams preparing for a packed summer of top level Rugby Sevens. In addition, it is a great platform for youth development squads to gain meaningful competition alongside some of the world's best teams.
Headlining the Festival, the new NextGen divisions are specifically designed for U23/college age players. This is a vital stepping stone for athletes as they move beyond the Age-Grade game and target a successful transition into the senior game. The U18 and U16 divisions continue this trend, providing a platform for the very best in Age-Grade Rugby Sevens to prove themselves and learn from the best.
Check back to WildcatSports.com following each day's action for results and a full recap.
-CWU-
