Boyd, MD. – After battling through the 7's season, the National run began for Wheeling Women's Rugby on day one of the CRC National 7's. They played the first two games of their National tournament run, and would split the contests, falling out of contention for the National Championship. Despite the loss, the Cardinals will continue to battle on Sunday, as they fight for a consolation bracket championship.
Game 1: #4 West Chester 12, #5 Wheeling 7 (Sudden Victory)
The first round of the CRC National 7's would put Wheeling in the #4 vs. #5 game in a battle with West Chester University. It was a defensive battle throughout, with neither offense able to find their break early on. West Chester had control of the ball early, playing inside the Wheeling 22-meter line for a majority of the first half. They twice made pushes for the try zone, and were twice denied by Wheeling senior captain Ema Tai. She would hold up the ball on both attempts and kept it a scoreless game through the first five minutes of play. Wheeling got the ball in their hands and tried to make a push up the field. However, the West Chester defense held strong, forcing a Cardinal turnover and they would not be denied on their next trip inside the 22 meter line.
They would touch the ball down as the final first half whistle blew, and hit the ensuing conversion kick. They would head into the break with a 7-0 lead and the Cardinals would look to regroup at the halftime break. The strong defensive play continued into the second half, this time with Wheeling holding the possession for the majority of the half. They pushed the ball past midfield but every time they made a break, West Chester was there for the stop. As the game clock continued to tick down, Wheeling would look to make one last push for the try line. The ball would get into the hands of Shannon Whypji and she used her speed to dive across the try line, setting up a big conversion kick. She would nail it and there would be no more scoring before regulation ended. The teams went to sudden victory, and it would be West Chester that touched the ball down for the game-winning try.
It would knock the Cardinals out of the National Championship bracket, but the team would still have life in the consolation round. Scoring the lone try for the Cardinals was Shannon Whypji, who finished with all seven points for the team. Along with her offensive success, Ema Tai would lead the defensive effort, finishing with two held ups on the day to keep West Chester off the board early. With the National Championship run wrapped up, the Cardinals would move on to the consolation bracket for game two.
Game Two: Wheeling 38, UCONN 0
After losing their first game of the day, Wheeling came out hot in game two, scoring in less than a minute against UCONN. Wheeling's senior captain Alexis Dallas would get the ball in her hand and powered her way through the defense and across the try line to give Wheeling an early lead. Emerson Callegari would send the conversion through the upright and the Cardinals were out to a 7-0 lead. The Cardinal defense once again stood strong throughout the first half, holding the Huskies at bay through the first seven minutes of play. The Cardinals would score one more time before the break as Payton Olivas got the ball in her hand. She was able to make a move up the sidelines and the Wheeling lead would push to 7-0. A failed conversion would be the final scoring opportunity before the half and the Caridnal's 12-0 lead prevailed heading into the halftime break.
Through their first three halves of the tournament, Wheeling would score just 19 points. The offense broke out in the second half of their first round consolation game, with Callegari taking the lead. The freshman would take the opening kick of the half and sprinted down field for the try. She would hit her second conversion of the day following the try and the Cardinal lead grew to 19-0. The freshman would add two more conversions on the next three scores as Wheeling continued to add on to their lead. After playing solid defense in game one, Ema Tai was rewarded with her first try of the day with 2:55 to play. Wheeling would score twice more before thee end of regulation, with Shannon Whypji and Callegari each finding the try zone in the final minute. It would wrap up a 38-0 win for the Cardinals as they advanced in the bowl bracket.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was Emerson Callegari, who finished with 18 points on the day. She found her groove in the kicking game, hitting four conversions, while adding two tries in the second half to help the Cardinal offense break out. Ema Tai, Alexis Dallas,Payton Olivas, and Shannon Whypji each scored one try to round out the day an advance to Cardinals through the consolation round.
The Wheeling University Women's Rugby team returns to action on Sunday, April 26th, when they take on The University of Northeen Iowa With kickoff at 10 AM
