Wheeling, W. Va. – After opening their 7's schedule a week ago, the Wheeling University Women's Rugby team hosted their first ever 7's Tournament with the Wheeling 7's being played at Bishop Schmitt Field on sunday. In total six teams, including two sides of Wheeling, would compete at the event as Wheeling's main side took home the championship. They would go 5-0 on the day to claim the title and push their 7's record to 8-3 on the season.
Game 1: Wheeling 40, Cincinnati 0
The Cardinals would open the festivities playing in the first match of the morning against Cincinnati. It would take the Cardinals just two minutes to get on the board as Alli Davis took the ball off the scrum and touched it down for the first score. Marissa Hudson would knock through the conversion kick and Wheeling took a 7-0 lead. As the half went on, Cincinnati controlled the time of possession, holding the ball for over three minutes during the first half. Wheeling would force a turnover with under a minute to play in the half and set their offense out for another score. This time, it was Jemmely Rivera who took the ball to the house and a Hudson conversion kick would send the game into halftime with Wheeling leading 14-0.
The second half was all about offense with the Cardinals scoring 36 points over the final seven minutes. Newcomer Shannon Whypji would be the first in the try zone, followed by Alexis Dallas's first conversion kick of the day. A minute and a half later Mya Alexander would join her, converting her own kick, and the Cardinals led 28-0. After getting the scoring started, it would be Davis who would secure the victory. She scored each of the final two tries for the Cardinals, one at the 12:20 mark and one during the game's final push. Alexander would attempt the conversion kick each time, going 1-2 in those attempts to bring the match to its final score of 40-0 to start pool play.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was Alli Davis, who finished with three tries and 15 points in the effort. Jemmely Rivera, Shannon Whypji, and Mya Alexander would each add tries to round out the effort. Mya Alexander would convert on two of her three conversion kicks, bringing her total to nine points, while Alexis Dallas added a conversion kick and Marissa Hudson would finish 2-2 on conversions to add 10 points to her effort.
Game Two: Wheeling 39, Pitt 5
As the Cardinals continued Pool Play, they would battle Pitt in what would be a preview of the Championship match. Jemmely Rivera was the one to spark the offense, getting into the try zone at the 2:30 mark. An unsuccessful conversion kick would make it a 5-0 Cardinal lead. a 5-0 Cardinal lead. It was the first of back-to-back tries for Rivera as she helped the Cardinals build a 10-0 lead. Alli Davis continued her big day, scoring her fourth try of the day and first of match two, and Hudson followed with a conversion kick that pushed the lead to 17-0. The Cardinals would have one more try before the half, courtesy of Riley Bonds, who scored her first try of the day, but a missed conversion kick would send the game into halftime with Wheeling leading 22-0.
In the second half, it would be the senior Dakota Burgess who got on the board following her senior day ceremony. It pushed the lead to 27-0 and the Cardinal defense continued their roll, holding the opposition off the board for 28 consecutive minutes. Shannon Whypji would get back on the board and made the second successful conversion kick of the day and the Cardinal lead headed to 34-0. The final Cardinal score of the day would come from Marlies Garrison who crossed the try line with 13:32 showing in the clock. Pitt would be the final team on the board on the day, scoring the game's final try as time expired, but the Cardinal offense had already done enough as they picked up a 39-5 win.
Jemmely Rivera would lead the way in Game two, scoring a pair of tries to total 10 points in the effort. The other Alli Davis, Ry Bonds, Dakota Burgess, Shannon Whypji, and Marlies Garrison each scored tries on the day. Marissa Hudson and Whypji would each add conversion kicks to round out the game two scoring.
Game 3: Wheeling 48, Robert Morris 0
The final game of pool play would see the Cardinals match up with Robert Morris, in their highest scoring effort of the day. After getting on the board for the first time on the day, Ry Bonds would continue her scoring, with her second try of the day. Mya Alexander would follow with a conversion kick and the Cardinals took a 7-0 lead. Four different Cardinals would score in the first half with Bonds being joined by Liz Sinatra, Alexander, and Alli Davis in the first half. Alexander would attempt all three conversion kicks, going 1-2, adding two more points to her day. The Cardinals would take a 24-0 lead heading into halftime and the offense looked to continue their success.
In the second half, Sinatra would start the scoring in the second half with her second try of the game, and missed a conversion kick to make it a 29-0 game. Bonds followed with her second try of the day and Sinatra made up for the miss with her first conversion kick of the day and the Cardinals advanced their lead to 36-0. After making several conversion kicks throughout the day, Marissa Hudson got across the try line for her first of the day, and made the resulting conversion kick to make it a 43-0 score. The final Cardinal try would come from Sinatra, who picked up a multi-try effort and missed the conversion kick to round out the day. The Cardinals would win 48-0 and clinched the top spot in the pool heading into the postseason portion of the day.
Game 4: Wheeling 41, WVU 0
In their Tournament semifinal match, the Cardinals would take on WVU to move onto the Championship game. It was Alli Davis who got the Cardinals started again with a try and the Cardinals took a 5-0 lead. After being held off the scoreboard over the first three games, Tamzin Boyce would use her speed to get onto the scoreboard. Another missed. Inversion kick would make it a 10-0 game, but just two minutes later Jemmely Rivera was on the board for her first try of the night. Marissa Hudson would add the first conversion kick of the day and the Cardinals advanced their lead to 17-0. It would be the captain that finished out the first half scoring as Ema Tai races down field to get across the try line. It would send the Cardinals into halftime leading 22-0.
Wheeling would add three more tries in the second half, with Jill Stewart being first on the board at the 7:49 mark. Mya Alexander would tack on the conversion kick and the Cardinals advantage went up 29-0. It was the start of a big scoring half for Alexander, as she got across the try line and converted her own kick to make it a 36-0 game. The final Cardinal try would come at the 13:06 mark courtesy of Liz Sinatra, who put up her first try of the day and the Cardinals would bring things to a final score of 41-0. The Cardinals would advance to the championship game with the win and they would await the winner of Frostburg State and Pitt as they tried for their first ever tournament championship.
Game 5: Wheeling 41, Pitt 0
The final game of the day would see Wheeling battle Pitt for the Tournament championship. It was the Cardinal leaders throughout the day who led once again, with Tamzin Boyce getting things started with a try and Alexis Dallas added a conversion kick to make it a 7-0 game. It would turn into the Jemmely Rivera show the rest of the half, scoring three straight tries over the final 14 minutes. She totaled 15 points in the half and helped them build their lead. Marissa Hudson would go 1-2 on conversion kicks to add the final two points of the half and the Cardinals headed into the locker room with a 24-0 lead. The Cardinals had gone three straight games without allowing a point and the scoreless streak would continue at the end of the first half.
In the second half, the Cardinals would continue their scoring, with Alli Davis putting the ball into the try zone for the second try of the day. The Cardinals would miss the conversion kick and the Cardinals would build their lead to 29-0. The Cardinal's Liz Sinatra would score back-to-back tries to bring her total for the match to three. Mya Alexander would add a conversion kick and the Cardinals went ahead 41-0. The Cardinals would get one more try before the half was out and Alexander would miss the conversion kick and the Cardinals would win by the score of 46-0. They would win their first ever 7's Tournament to round out a big day.
The Wheeling University Women's Rugby team returns to action on Saturday, March 22nd, when they head to the Brown 7's.
