Vancouver, B.C.– Capping off an undefeated season, the University of Victoria women's rugby team went 4-0 at the final Canada West Rugby 7s series stop to claim the program's fourth-straight conference championship title and second-straight perfect season.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Day 1
Victoria 33, Calgary 5

• Getting on the board using their first possession of the match, the Vikes swung the ball to Bethany Cudmore, who touched it down for a try. A successful convert from Sara Kaljuvee put the Vikes ahead, 7-0.
• Off a lineout, the ball was sent to Larah Wright, who charged up the middle for the try. Two points from Summer Blackmore on the convert led to a 12-0 UVic lead.
• The Vikes put seven more points on the board courtesy of a Maelle Reed try and Kaljuvee convert to hold a 21-0 lead after the first half.
• Being tackled by the Dinos, the Vikes managed to flip to ball to Maelle Reed, who snuck past the oncoming defenders up the middle to touch the ball down between the goal posts. Adding a convert from Alexie Pusch, the Vikes widened their lead to 28-0.
• Throwing the ball in on a lineout, the Vikes passed the ball to a moving Carissa Norsten, who evaded Calgary defenders for the try and 33-0 Vikes lead.
• The Dinos would put the final try of the match on the board, but the Vikes claimed the first win of the day, 33-5.

Victoria 47, Lethbridge 0

• Sara Kaljuvee registered her first try of the tournament to open the scoring, taking the ball to the endzone herself after a penalty restart. With Summer Blackmore's ensuing convert, the Vikes took a 7-0 lead.
• Kaljuvee would add two points on Ella O'Regan's try for the 14-0 UVic advantage, and would be followed by a try from McKenzie Pusch with no time on the clock to end the half with the Vikes up, 19-0.
• Bethany Cudmore and Carissa Norsten, with successful converts from Kaljuvee, increased the Vikes' lead to 33-0 in the second half.
• Scoring all seven points, Kira Peary broke away from the pack to score the try and convert for a 40-0 UVic lead.
• Following suit, Alexie Pusch touched the ball down for the try, then kicked a successful conversion to close out the game, securing the Vikes' first-place finish in Pool A with a 47-0 win.

Day 2
Victoria 34, Alberta 0

• Starting in complete opposite fashion from the last meeting between the Vikes and Pandas, UVic scored on its opening possession of the match, with Renee Gonzalez breaking away down the right side for the try. A successful convert from Summer Blackmore resulted in a 7-0 Vikes lead.
• Getting the ball back after an Alberta possession, Maelle Reed flipped the ball to Ella O'Regan as she was being tackled to the ground. In open space, O'Regan touched the ball down between the posts for the 12-0 Vikes lead.
• With no time left on the clock at the end of the first half, a pack push powered Summer Blackmore into the endzone, where she touched the ball down for the 17-0 Vikes lead at the half.
• Chanelle Edwards-Challenger opened the second half scoring, finding a gap on the left side and taking advantage of it for the try and 22-0 Vikes lead.
• Swinging the ball to the right side of the field, the Vikes found an open Madison Jumeau, who broke away to score her first try of the tournament and put UVic ahead, 27-0.
• Putting one final set of points on the board, Bethany Cudmore recovered a kick by Alberta on the opposite side of the field. Unable to be stopped during her 90-yard run, she touched the ball down for the try. Alexie Pusch added the convert to seal the Vikes' fourth-straight Canada West 7s Championship, 34-0.

Victoria 19, UBC 10

• Trailing for only the second time in 15 matches, UBC got on the board first, taking a 5-0 lead.
• Winning the scrum, Summer Blackmore fielded the ball and began to breakaway. Starting to be caught by Thunderbird defenders, Blackmore found Maelle Reed, who sprinted up the middle for the try. Sara Kaljuvee put the ball through the uprights on the convert to give the Vikes the 7-5 lead.
• The Thunderbirds would capitalize on a rare UVic error to get the ball back and score a try as time expired, holding a 10-7 lead at the half.
• Displaying some tactful deceit on a lineout, the ball was quickly handed to Renee Gonzalez immediately below where the catch was made. Gonzalez evaded the Thunderbirds' attention long enough to break away from the group and score the try, giving the Vikes the lead back, 12-10.
• Giving the Vikes some breathing room in the final minutes of the game, Bethany Cudmore broke away up the left side of the field for the final try of the tournament. With a convert from Blackmore, the Vikes earned the 19-10 win to put the lid on a perfect season.

 
WORTH NOTING

• The Vikes finished the 2022 7s season an undefeated 15-0, posting back-to-back undefeated seasons after going 15-0 in 2020. The undefeated 7s season marks the third overall for the Vikes, going 18-0 in 2018.
• Victoria claimed its fourth-straight Canada West 7s championship, finishing with a total of 36 points on the season from three tournament wins.
• A member of the three-team Pool A on the first day of competition, the Vikes finished at the top of the pool with a 2-0 record to claim a spot in the semifinals en route to the gold medal match.
• Bethany Cudmore led the Vikes' scoring efforts at the UBC tournament, scoring four tries. In total, 13 Vikes players recorded tries in the final tournament.
• Sara Kaljuvee recorded a team-high six converts in four matches for the Vikes to end the season.
• The Vikes allowed 15 points over the duration of the tournament, the fewest allowed in a single tournament this season by the Canada West champions.

 
UP NEXT
With the 7s season concluded, the Vikes will return to 15s action in the fall.