Princeton 7s Takes 3rd at Nationals

The Princeton Women’s 7s squad placed 3rd in the 2018 National Collegiate 7s Championship at Infinity Park in Glendale, CO over the May 19th weekend.

After earning a bid in the open bracket, PUWRFC used unrelenting speed, strong tackles and sharp wits to dominate the pool, defeating Kennesaw State (a final score of 38-12), Texas A&M (32-0), and Bloomsburg University (40-12). Senior captain Jess Lu dominated on offense, scoring 4 tries against Kennesaw, 2 against Bloomsburg and kicking for 5 completed conversions. Winger and reliable kicker Alicia Wang notched 16 points in both tries and conversions. Key tries were bravely earned by Alex Aparicio, Kai Liu, and Sam Lee. The freshmen also contributed to the offensive front as Sydney Hsu supplied 19 points in tries and conversions and Coco Wallace scored a hat trick against Texas A&M. 

The success on the first day of tournament play landed Princeton a first seed going into the elimination round. Princeton faced Chico State, a 15s powerhouse of a team. Despite striking with an early try by Wallace, Chico State outlasted and took the match, 28-7.

PUWRFC then faced Texas A&M for the 3rd place bowl. A full team effort, Lu, Hsu and Wallace each scored 2 tries and Wang converted. The Tigers left it all on the field and came away with a 36-5 victory. Most incredibly of all, the Tigers competed at Nationals on top of managing final exams. The team studied, wrote papers and took their exams in between matches.

This remarkable spring season would not at all have been possible without the inspirational leadership of the class of 2018 seniors: Gabe Armstrong-Scott, Gabby Gibbons, Mim Ra Aslaoui, Jesenia Haynes, Alex Aparicio, Sam Lee and Jess Lu. Their leadership and friendship will be sorely missed next fall.