Wheeling, W. Va. - The spring season officially kicked off for the Wheeling Women's Rugby team a week ago when they traveled to the Valley 7's. After starting the spring season strong, the Cardinals look to keep the success going on Sunday when they compete at the Cavalier 7's. The Cardinals advanced to the championship match in their first tournament of the season, and look for their first spring tournament win of the season on the road to the Collegiate Rugby Championships (CRC) National 7's.
Last time out, the Cardinals traveled to Harrisonburg, Virginia, where they played three rounds of pool play before making the championship match. They started the day with a 31-7 win over the host James Madison University's Purple team, before taking on their toughest challenge of the day. It would come in the form of the University of North Carolina, and the Cardinals squeezed out a 14-10 win, moving their record to 2-0. They would round out pool play with a strong 33-0 performance against JMU Gold, going 3-0 in the pool play portion of the event. They would be the top seed heading into the playoff portion, and took on that same JMU Gold team in the championship match. The Cardinals would once again battle, but this time they fell 27-12 to finish the day 3-1 to start their spring schedule.
It was a big day for the Cardinal offense, who scored 30 or more points in two of the four matches. They would average 22.5 points per day in the effort, with their biggest performance coming in the final game of pool play. The Cardinals used their speed to get up the sidelines and held the ball for a majority of the game. In the opening game of the tournament, Wheeling would put 31 points against the James Madison purple squad, setting the tone early. On the defensive side, the Cardinal's held their opponents to just 17 points. They picked up their first shutout of the spring season in the final game of pool play, and held the opposition to 10 points or less in each of the three pool games. It wasn't until the finale that they allowed an opponent to eclipse the 20-point mark, before falling to round out the tournament.
As they head into their second spring tournament, the Cardinals are looking to earn their spot at the CRC National 7's. Sunday will take them to their regional rival Walsh University for three rounds of guaranteed pool play. The action begins at noon, with the Cardinals playing three games in the Pool B of the tournament. The winners will be separated into the Plate and Cup semifinals, with the third and second place teams in each pool competing in the plate finals, while the top teams battle for the cup. The Cavalier 7's Championship will be held at 6:20 PM as the Cardinals look for their first spring championship. After making the championship match last time out, the Cardinals are looking to get back to that same match.
Cavalier 7's Schedule
Wheeling vs. Northern Iowa – 12 PM
Wheeling vs. Aquinas – 1:20 PM
Wheeling vs. Michigan State – 2:40 PM
Plate Semifinals – 4 PM & 4:20 PM
Cup Semifinals – 4:40 PM & 5 PM
Plate Championship – 5:20 PM
3rd Place – 6 PM
Championship – 6:20 PM
The Details
The Cavalier 7's are set to begin at noon on the campus of Walsh University. Follow along with wucardinals.com for updates all day and a full recap after the event.
