Edmonton, Alta. – Posting a 6-0 record over two days of competition, the University of Victoria women's rugby team opened the Canada West Rugby 7s season with a tournament victory at the University of Alberta, Jan. 22-23.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Day 1

Victoria 38, Trinity Western 0
First Half

• Larah Wright put the Vikes on the board, scoring the first try of the match for the 5-0 lead.
• Doubling UVic's lead, Bethany Cudmore scored her first try of the season for the 10-0 advantage.
• The Vikes would take a 17-point lead into halftime on a try from Maelle Reed and convert by Alexie Pusch.

Second Half

• The duo of Wright and Summer Blackmore would add the next 14 points for the Vikes, 31-0, with Wright scoring back-to-back tries and Blackmore coming away successful on both converts.
• Krista Scurfield would touch the ball down for Victoria's final try of the opening match. After a convert from Wright, the VIkes would come away with the 38-0 win to open the season.

Victoria 40, Lethbridge 5
First Half

• Similar to the first match, Larah Wright would score the game-opening try for the Vikes. Sara Kaljuvee put UVic up, 7-0, with the successful convert.
• A try from Krista Scurfield, with a convert from Summer Blackmore, pushed the Vikes ahead, 14-0.
• Victoria took a 19-0 lead on Chanelle Edwards-Challenger's first try of the season.
• Bethany Cudmore's try, and Blackmore's second convert of the half, gave the Vikes a 26-0 halftime lead.

Second Half

• Pushing the Vikes out to a 40-0 lead, back-to-back tries from Scurfield, along with two converts from Alexie Pusch, marked the second-half scoring for the VIkes.
• UVic would concede its first try of the tournament to the Pronghorns, who scored the final try of the match in the 40-5 Vikes win.

Victoria 12, UBC 7
First Half

• The Vikes opened the scoring for the third-straight match, as Krista Scurfield notched her fifth try of the tournament. A convert by Summer Blackmore gave UVic the 7-0 lead.
• UBC matched the score with a try and convert of their own to make the score an even 7-7 at the half.

Second Half

• Chanelle Edwards-Challenger sealed the win for the Vikes, scoring the only try of the second half for the 12-7 UVic victory.  

WORTH NOTING

• After the first day of competition, the Vikes finished at the top of the field with an unblemished 3-0 record. Hosts Alberta also finished 3-0 to tie for first.
• Krista Scurfield recorded a tournament-high five tries on the opening day of competition. Larah Wright added four tries and one convert to help the Vikes' offence.  

Day 2
 
Victoria 21, Alberta 5
First Half

• Scoring the game-opening try for the third time in four matches, Larah Wright touched the ball down for the Vikes. Sara Kaljuvee sailed the ball through the uprights for two more points, putting UVic ahead, 7-0.
• Madison Jumeau found the end zone for the first time this season, and with the successful convert from Alexie Pusch, doubled the Vikes' lead to 14-0 at the half.

Second Half

• Alberta would put itself on the scoreboard first in the second half, recording a try to cut Victoria's lead to single-digits, 14-5.
• Closing out the match scoring, Summer Blackmore would score all seven points herself, notching the try and convert to seal the 21-5 win.

 
Victoria 26, Calgary 7
First Half

• UVic put points on the board first, coming by way of a Larah Wright try and Summer Blackmore convert for a 7-0 lead.
• Two-straight tries from Krista Scurfield, and successful converts from Sara Kaljuvee and Blackmore saw the Vikes head in to halftime up, 21-0.

Second Half

• Calgary would end the Vikes' scoring run to open the second half, securing seven points on the scoring drive to make the score 21-7.
• Adding one more try before the end of the match, Ella O'Regan scored her first of the season to secure the 26-7 Vikes win, and spot in the gold medal match.

Gold Medal Match: Victoria 12, UBC 5
First Half

• Registering her first try points of the tournament, Sara Kaljuvee found the end zone for the only try of the opening half. Summer Blackmore was successful on the convert attempt for a 7-0 UVic lead.

Second Half

• The Thunderbirds pulled within two, 7-5, scoring a try to open the second half.
• Putting the final touches on the Vikes' gold medal-winning performance, Kaljuvee notched her second try of the match for the 12-5 win.

WORTH NOTING

• Victoria opens the Canada West Rugby 7s season with a perfect 6-0 record. With the first-place finish, the Vikes have won the Alberta 7s tournament in four of the past five seasons.
• Throughout the six matches of the tournament, the Vikes never trailed their opponents. While the score was tied once, UVic never fell behind. In addition, Victoria opened the scoring in all six matches, with Larah Wright scoring the game-opening tries in four-of-six matches over the weekend.
• Krista Scurfield finished the weekend with a team-high seven tries for the Vikes, one shy of the tournament-high eight. 

THOUGHTS FROM HEAD COACH BRITTANY WATERS
"I'm just so happy this tournament was able to go off. It was amazing to see all the teams here and competing so well, after basically a two-year hiatus. Our team honestly built game-by game, and we have a lot of talent on this squad. It was a great team performance, everyone stepped up. We had some key injuries, but the healthy players really performed well."

UP NEXT
Canada West Rugby 7s will come to Victoria, where the Vikes will host its conference opponents at Wallace Field, Feb. 12-13.

Final Tournament Standings
 

TEAM	WINS	LOSSES	TIES	POINTS
VIC	6	0	0	24
UBC	4	2	0	18
ALB	4	2	0	18
CGY	2	4	0	12
LET	2	4	0	12
TWU	0	6	0	6

 
NOTES:  Teams are awarded four points for a win, two points for a draw, and one point for a loss.
 
Teams are awarded 12 points for a tournament win, 10 points for finishing 2nd, 8 points for finishing third, 6 points for finishing fourth, 4 points for finishing fifth, 2 points for finishing sixth, and 1 points for finishing seventh.