Rugby 7s: UBC claims victory in Edmonton, upstart Spartans place second
Tournament #1 - Day Two Recap
Recap by Aly Andersen, UofA Athletics
EDMONTON - For the third time in eight seasons, the UBC Thunderbirds opened the Canada West Rugby 7s series claiming the top spot at the UofA Tournament following two grueling days of competition inside the Dome at Foote Field.
It is the second UofA tournament win in three years for the T-Birds, who also won in 2023 and 2019. This year was led by sophomore Adia Pye, who not only recorded a try in every match played but also led the tournament in tries with eight. Pye’s two critical first-half tries in their 12-5 victory over Victoria helped solidify the team's 5-0 record.
With their highest finish since joining the 7s series, the Trinity Western Spartans impressed with a 4-1 record to place second. Their hard-fought 12-10 victory over the host Alberta Pandas was a standout, highlighted by Ava Van Santen’s centre-field break to place the ball between the post in the first half, which proved to be the difference maker. Van Santen finished the weekend with five tries, four of which came in two matches on Sunday.
Trailing TWU 12-5, Pandas rookie Riley Reid touched the ball down along the sideline in the final seconds, however the convert attempt to tie the game came up, ending the game.
With both teams looking not to leave empty-handed, the Calgary Dinos and Lethbridge Pronghorns left everything on the turf in a match-up full of line breaks and heavy hits. Despite a two-try effort from second-year Zina Umeh, bringing her weekend total to five on the weekend, the Pronghorns would fall to the Dinos, 21-10.
All six teams will have two weeks to rest and strategize before reconvening in Langley, B.C. on Feb. 7 and 8 as the Trinity Western Spartans play host for Tournament #2.
2025 RUGBY 7s SERIES STANDINGS
| TEAM | W | L | POINTS |
1 | UBC | 5 | 0 | 10 |
2 | Trinity Western | 4 | 1 | 8 |
3 | Victoria | 3 | 2 | 6 |
4 | Alberta | 2 | 3 | 4 |
5 | Calgary | 1 | 4 | 2 |
6 | Lethbridge | 0 | 5 | 1 |
All the teams participating in the Series will receive competition points according to their ranking at the end of each tournament. The overall winner of the Series will be determined by the team with the most series points as set out below:
1st Place - 10 points / 2nd Place - 8 points / 3rd Place - 6 points / 4th Place - 4 points / 5th Place - 2 points / 6th Place - 1 point
ROUND 4
Game 10: Calgary Dinos (14) vs Trinity Western (31)
| 1 | 2 | T |
CGY | 0 | 14 | 14 |
TWU | 17 | 14 | 31 |
TWU try - #6 Ava Van Santen (convert missed) 5-0 TWU
TWU try - #6 Ava Van Santen (#5 Jenna DeGreef convert) 12-0 TWU
TWU try - #8 Hannah Hibbs (convert missed) 17-0 TWU
HALF
CGY try - #5 Sofia Brussoni (#5 Sofia Brussoni convert) 17-7 TWU
TWU try - #6 Ava Van Santen (#4 Issy Scholtens convert) 24-7 TWU
TWU try - #5 Jenna DeGreef (#5 Jenna DeGreef convert) 31-7 TWU
CGY try - #14 Bomi Lawal (#5 Sofia Brussoni convert) 31-14 TWU
Game 11: Victoria Vikes (31) vs Lethbridge Pronghorns (5)
| 1 | 2 | T |
VIC | 12 | 19 | 31 |
LET | 5 | 0 | 0 |
VIC try - #7 Shaye Ogurek (convert missed) 5-0 VIC
VIC try - #8 Emily Findlay (#6 Vanessa Chiappetta convert) 12-0 VIC
LET try - #1 Charli Helland (convert missed) 12-5 VIC
HALF
VIC try - #6 Vanessa Chiappetta (convert missed) 17-5 VIC
VIC try - #13 Elle Douglas (#6 Vanessa Chiappetta convert) 24-5 VIC
VIC try - #16 Kaitlyn Brescia (#6 Vanessa Chiappetta convert) 31-5 VIC
Game 12: Alberta Pandas (0) vs UBC Thunderbirds (29)
| 1 | 2 | T |
ALB | 0 | 0 | 0 |
UBC | 19 | 10 | 29 |
UBC try - #1 Kiki Idowu (#12 Lana Dueck convert) 7-0 UBC
UBC try - #11 Adia Pye (convert missed) 12-0 UBC
UBC try - #14 Brooke Roddham (#7 Skye Farish convert) 21-0 UBC
HALF
UBC try - #1 Kiki Idowu (convert missed) 26-0 UBC
UBC try - #15 Shalaya Valenzuela (convert missed) 31-0 UBC
ROUND 5
Game 13: Calgary Dinos (21) vs Lethbridge Pronghorns (10)
| 1 | 2 | T |
CGY | 14 | 7 | 21 |
LET | 5 | 5 | 10 |
LET try - #6 Zina Umeh (convert missed) 5-0 LET
CGY try - #14 Bomi Lawal (#10 Macie Kitt convert) 7-5 CGY
CGY try - #13 Makayla Joseph (#10 Macie Kitt convert) 14-5 CGY
HALF
LET try - #6 Zina Umeh (convert missed) 14-10 CGY
CGY try - #15 Maori de Jesus-Gilhula (#5 Sofia Brussoni convert) 21-10 CGY
Game 14: Alberta Pandas (10) vs Trinity Western Spartans (12)
| 1 | 2 | T |
ALB | 5 | 5 | 10 |
TWU | 7 | 5 | 12 |
ALB try - #19 Shaely Moodie (convert missed) 5-0 ALB
TWU try - #6 Ava Van Santen (#5 Jenna DeGreef convert) 7-5 TWU
HALF
TWU try - #15 Hailey Hibbs (convert missed) 12-5 TWU
ALB try - #15 Riley Reid (convert missed) 12-10 TWU
Game 15: UBC Thunderbirds (12) vs Victoria Vikes (5)
| 1 | 2 | T |
UBC | 12 | 0 | 12 |
VIC | 0 | 5 | 5 |
UBC try - #11 Adia Pye (#12 Lana Dueck convert) 7-0 UBC
UBC try - #11 Adia Pye (convert missed) 12-0 UBC
HALF
VIC try - #8 Emily Findlay (convert missed) 12-5 UBC
