VICTORIA – The University of Victoria women's rugby team finished 4-1 at Wallace Field for the Victoria 7s stop of the Canada West series, March 1-2.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Vikes down Dinos in opening match

• Victoria opened the Victoria 7s stop with a convincing 41-5 win over Calgary, getting on the board early with a try from Ella O'Regan and a convert from Vanessa Chiappetta for the 7-0 lead in the first minute of action.
• Adding tries from Emily Findlay, Chiappetta, and Larah Wright, along with one more Chiappetta convert, the Vikes took a 24-0 lead into the halftime break.
• Wright broke through for the Vikes to open the second quarter scoring, touching the ball down for the 29-0 lead.
• After a try by Calgary, Ivy Poetker and Regan Casey added the final tries of the day for Victoria. Along with an Elle Douglas convert, the Vikes came away with the 41-5 win.

Explosive second half powers Vikes past Spartans

• The Vikes saw tries from Larah Wright and Justine Blatt-Janmaat in the first half, but the Spartans also struck twice and added a successful convert to hold the 12-10 lead at halftime.
• Holding Trinity Western scoreless in the second half, the Vikes capitalized with a four-try showing, getting tries from Blatt-Janmaat, Vanessa Chiappetta, and two from Olivia Newsome. Adding three converts by Summer Blackmore, the Vikes finished the game with the 36-12 victory.

Vikes can't catch Thunderbirds to close day one

• UBC took a 10-0 lead at halftime to start the final game of the day. However, Olivia Newsome pulled the Vikes within a try, scoring out of the halftime break to bring the score to 10-5.
• The final try of the day went to UBC, giving the Thunderbirds the 17-5 win.

Victoria shuts out Alberta in day two opener

• An explosive opening to day two for the Vikes, two tries by Ella O'Regan, one from Kaitlyn Brescia, and three successful converts by Olivia Newsome gave the Vikes a 21-0 halftime lead.
• Newsome's try and convert along with a try from Macy Wiebe in the second half finalized the Vikes' win by a score of 33-0.

Vikes post win over Pronghorns to close tournament

• The Vikes took a 15-0 lead in the first half on tries from Emily Findlay, Ella O'Regan, and Olivia Newsome. Lethbridge got on the board before time ran out to bring the score to 15-5 in favour of the Vikes at halftime.
• Macy Wiebe's try opened the second half scoring, and was followed by the second tires of the game from both Findlay and Newsome. Along with a successful convert by Newsome, the Vikes earned the 32-5 win in their final game of the day.

FROM THE FIELD – Head coach Brittany Waters
"It was great to see the quality of play raise up across all teams compared to the last tournament. For us, it was great to have some players back in the mix that were coming back from injury, like having Ella O'Regan back- her leadership and experience on the field made a huge difference for the team. We also had a debut this weekend in Ivy Poetker who stepped up and we were able to see what she can bring. Overall, we had five solid showings and it was great to have a full team effort and see everybody step up."

WORTH NOTING

• 12 Vikes found the scoresheet during the second tournament of the season, combining to score 147 points over five games.
• Olivia Newsome led the Vikes in all categories with six tries, five converts, and 40 total points.
• Ella O'Regan scored four tries in her return for the Vikes, while Summer Blackmore added three converts over the weekend.
• Larah Wright and Emily Findlay tallied three tries each, while Vanessa Chiappetta, Justine Blatt-Janmaat, and Macy Wiebe each finished with two.
• The Vikes move to 7-3 on the year after the 4-1 weekend.

UP NEXT
The Vikes close the 2025 Canada West 7s series at Trinity Western University, March 14-15. Catch the action on Canada West TV presented by BioSteel.