Langley, B.C. – The University of Victoria women's rugby program finished as Canada West silver medallists following a 4-1 weekend at the Trinity Western 7s stop to close the 2025 Canada West 7s series, March 14-15, at Willoughby Community Park.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Vikes open tournament with win over Alberta

• The Vikes jumped to a 14-0 lead in the first half, seeing tries from Ivy Poetker and Charlotte Hilton along with two converts from Elle Douglas.
• Alberta struck twice before the end of the first half, adding one convert to pull within two, 14-12, at halftime.
• Poetker struck for the Vikes out of the break, scoring a try and adding another successful convert by Douglas for the 21-12 lead.
• Olivia Newsome completed the Vikes' scoring for the game, getting all seven points herself on the try and convert for the 28-12 Victoria advantage.
• A final try from Alberta in the closing seconds of the match brought the final score to 28-17 in favour of Victoria.

Vikes down Pronghorns in second session

•  All Vikes in the first half, Victoria held a 24-0 lead at the break following tries from Emily Findlay, Elle Douglas, Ella O'Regan, and Kaitlyn Brescia. Douglas was successful on two converts to round out the first-half scoring.
• Charlotte Hilton's try and Douglas' convert marked the first scoring of the second half, extending UVic's lead to 31-0.
• Lethbridge put the final two scores on the board in the second half, finalizing the score at 31-10 for the Vikes.

 Victoria ends day one with win over Calgary

• A try from Ella O'Regan and convert by Elle Douglas marked the only scoring of the first half, giving the Vikes a 7-0 lead at halftime.
• A Kaitlyn Brescia try and Charlotte Hilton convert in the second half doubled the Vikes' lead to 14-0, but a try from Calgary in the final seconds sealed the final score of 14-5 for Victoria.

Vikes blank Spartans in day two opener

• Remee Brown opened the game scoring with her first try of the weekend, and was followed by an Emily Findlay try and Elle Douglas convert for the 12-0 Vikes lead at the half.
• Charlotte Hilton, Olivia Newsome, and Ivy Poetker each scored a try in the second half, and along with a convert by Newsome, completed the 29-0 shutout of Trinity Western. 

Last-minute try pushes T'Birds past Vikes

• A near-even first half, UBC scored two tries and two converts to the Vikes' two tries and one convert to take a 14-12 lead into the break. The Vikes had tries from Emily Findlay and Olivia Newsome, with Elle Douglas successful on the convert.
• Ivy Poetker's try and another Douglas convert opened the second-half scoring, giving the Vikes a 19-14 lead until a Thunderbirds try tied the game three minutes later, 19-19.
• UBC took the 24-19 lead on a try with just over a minute to go, kicking it off to the Vikes with about 40 seconds to play on the clock. Unable to score in the remaining seconds, UBC came away with the 24-19 win.

WORTH NOTING

• Elle Douglas led the scoring for the Vikes with 25 points over the two-day tournament, consisting of one try and a team-high 10 converts.
• Ivy Poetker was the top try-scorer for the Vikes with four tries in five matches. Charlotte Hilton, Olivia Newsome, and Emily Findlay each finished with three.
• Victoria's 4-1 finish at the tournament secured a Canada West silver medal finish for the program, marking the third-straight silver medal finish for the Vikes in conference 7s action.
• The Vikes finish the 2025 Canada West 7s season with a 11-4 overall record, going 3-2 at the Alberta 7s stop and 4-1 at both the Victoria and Trinity Western 7s stops.

UP NEXT
The Vikes' 7s season has come to a close. Victoria will open its 15s season in September 2025.