EDMONTON – The UBC Thunderbirds earned two wins Sunday in the Dome at Foote Field to finish fifth at the inaugural Canada West Rugby Sevens Series in Edmonton.

UBC opened with a 40-0 shutout of the Fraser Valley Cascades, before falling in another closely contested match, 24-19 to hosts Alberta, in the final round-robin match of the event.

The 1-4 Thunderbirds and 0-5 Cascades met in the fifth-place match on Sunday, and UBC was able to secure its second 40-0 win of the day over their provincial rival.
 

Ubc gets their warm up underway for their last game of the tournament against UFV. pic.twitter.com/HBNBCGB1vj

— UBC Women's Rugby (@UBCWRugby) January 22, 2017

The Victoria Vikes went a perfect 5-0 during the round robin portion of the first-ever event, including a 17-5 win over the Dinos in the final round robin game on Sunday afternoon. Similar to Victoria, Calgary entered the final round robin game undefeated, before losing consecutive games to the Vikes to finish second overall. With the tournament win, the Vikes earn 10 points in the overall standings, which will determine a series winner after the third and final tournament in Vancouver. With their second place standing, the Dinos earned eight points.

"Both the tournament and facility were awesome. It was run really well and I think this whole Canada West series is going to be great." said Vikes head coach Brittany Waters following her team's tournament win. "Our team played consistently all weekend, which is a strength of ours. We have a lot of great athletes, and we played like a team, which made the difference for us."

The host Alberta Pandas went 3-2, before beating the Lethbridge Pronghorns 24-17 in the third place match to earn six points.



The first-place game seemed destined for overtime, with the two teams playing a hard-fought and defensive minded final. Jess Neilson started the scoring for Victoria in the opening minute, with her second try of the weekend. The Vikes held the 5-0 lead until midway through the second half, as Vanessa Graham evened the match with a 15-yard dash. However the Vikes were able to score on the final play of regulation, as Stephanie Black burst through the Dino back-line for the tournament winning score. 

"We improved with every game. We know how to swing the ball wide and work together; it was really nice to come out with the win." said third-year Vike Maddie Graham, who finished the weekend with four tries and one convert. "Our team had some nagging injuries all weekend, so it was nice to overcome those."

"The Olympics brought a lot more exposure to the sevens game, which is great. Having this kind of tournament were we can showcase our skill across Western Canada is a big asset for us."

The three-part Canada West Rugby Sevens series will shift to Vancouver for the February 4-5 weekend, before the Victoria Vikes host the final tournament on February 18-19. 

Round 4
Game 10: UFV Cascades (0) vs. UBC Thunderbirds (40)
Scoring summary:
UFV: 0-0: 0
UBC: 12-28: 40

UBC try – #7 Ciara Malone (#7 Ciara Malone Convert) – 7-0
UBC try – #5 Bianca Acland (convert missed) – 12-0

Half-time
UBC try - #7 Ciara Malone (#7 Ciara Malone Convert) – 19-0
UBC try - #4 Brooke Bazian ((#7 Ciara Malone Convert) 26-0
UBC try - #7 Ciara Malone (#7 Ciara Malone Convert) – 33-0
UBC try - #9 Stephanie MacKinnon (#4 Brooke Bazian Convert) – 40-0

Game 11: Victoria Vikes (22) vs. Lethbridge Pronghorns (5)
Scoring summary:
VIC: 12-10: 22
LET: 0-5: 5
VIC try – #10 Jess Neilson (convert missed) – 5-0
VIC try – #7 Maddie Graham (#10 Jess Neilson Convert) – 12-0
Half-time
LET try - #8 Nicole Ronsky (convert missed) – 12-5
VIC try – #7 Maddie Graham (convert missed) – 22-5

Game 12: Alberta Pandas (7) vs. Calgary Dinos (24)
Scoring summary:
ALB: 0-7: 7
CGY: 7-17: 24
 
CGY try – #15 Elysa Sandron (#15 Elysa Sandron Convert) – 7-0

Half-time
CGY try - #15 Elysa Sandron (convert missed) – 12-0
CGY try – #13 Breanne Morgan (convert missed) – 17-0
ALB try – #15 Ali Wicklum (#15 Ali Wicklum Convert) – 17-7
CGY try – #13 Breanne Morgan (#10 Isla Shill Convert) – 24-7

Round 5
Game 13: Lethbridge Pronghorns (43) vs. UFV Cascades (0)
Scoring summary:
LET: 24-19: 43
UFV: 0-0: 0

LET try – #8 Nicole Ronsky (convert missed) – 5-0
LET try – #9 Caitlin Sears (convert missed) – 10-0
LET try – #6 Carolyn McKee (#9 Caitlin Sears Convert) – 17-0
LET try – #2 Eden Hoff (#9 Caitlin Sears Convert) – 24-0

Half-time
LET try – #8 Nicole Ronsky (#9 Caitlin Sears Convert) – 31-0
LET try - #1 Sydney De La Mare (#9 Caitlin Sears Convert) 38-0
LET try - #3 Abby Newdorf (convert missed) 43-0
 
Game 14: UBC Thunderbirds (19) vs. Alberta Pandas (24)
Scoring summary:
ALB: 12-12: 24
UBC: 7-12: 19
 
ALB try – #9 Amanda Smith (convert missed) – 5-0
UBC try – #2 Gillian Boag (#4 Brooke Bazian Convert) – 7-5
ALB try – #18 Emily Cook (#15 Ali Wicklum Convert) – 12-7

Half-time
UBC try - #7 Ciara Malone (convert missed) 12-12
ALB try - #15 Ali Wicklum (convert missed) 17-12
UBC try - #1 Mackenzie Lee (#4 Brooke Bazian Convert) 19-17
ALB try - #19 Kylie Zazula (#15 Ali Wicklum Convert) 24-19
 
Game 15: Victoria Vikes (17) vs. Calgary Dinos (5)
Scoring summary:
VIC: 5-12: 17
CGY: 5-0: 5
CGY try – #14 Maddy Loader (convert missed) – 5-0
VIC try – #16 Stephanie Black (convert missed) – 5-5

Half-time
VIC try - #11 Ashah Payson (#9 Angela Thompson Convert) – 12-5
VIC try - #5 Chanelle Edwards-Challenger (#9 Angela Thompson Convert) – 17-5
 
Round 6 – Playoff Round
Fifth Place Game: UFV Cascades (0) vs. UBC Thunderbirds (40)
Scoring summary:
UFV: 0-0: 0
UBC: 19-21: 40

UBC try – #7 Ciara Malone (#7 Ciara Malone convert) – 7-0
UBC try – #3 Mackenzie Carson (convert missed) – 12-0
UBC try - #10 Nicole Mallow (#4 Brooke Bazian convert) – 19-0

Half-time
UBC try - #7 Ciara Malone (#7 Ciara Malone convert) – 26-0
UBC try - #8 Jennifer Blume (#4 Brooke Bazian Convert) – 33-0
UBC try - #7 Ciara Malone (#7 Ciara Malone convert) – 40-0

Third Place Game: Lethbridge Pronghorns (17) vs. Alberta Pandas (24)
Scoring summary:

ALB: 12-12: 24
LET: 12-5: 17
ALB try – #24 Ferris Sandboe (convert missed) – 5-0
LET try – #10 Hailey Driscoll (convert missed) – 5-5
LET try – #6 Carolyn McKee (#9 Caitlin Sears Convert ) – 12-5
ALB try – #18 Emily Cook (#15 Ali Wicklum Convert ) – 12-12

Half-time
ALB try - #6 Alex Martin (convert missed) – 17-12
ALB try - #24 Ferris Sandboe (#15 Ali Wicklum Convert) – 24-12
LET try - #3 Abby Neudorf (convert missed) – 24-17
 
First Place Match: Calgary Dinos (5) vs. Victoria Vikes (12)
Scoring summary:
CGY: 0-5: 5
VIC: 5-7: 12

VIC try – #10 Jess Neilson (convert missed) – 5-0

Half-time
CGY try – #23 Vanessa Graham (convert missed) – 5-5
VIC try – #6 Stephanie Black (#9 Angela Thompson convert) – 12-5

Tournament standings
            W        L          T          Pts.
VIC       6          0          0          24
CGY      4          2          0          18
ALB      4          2          0          18
LET       2          4          0          12
UBC      2          4          0          12
UFV      0          6          0          6
NOTE: Teams are awarded 4 pts. for a win, 2 pts. for a draw, and 1 pt. for a loss.

Overall series standings
                  Pts.
VIC           10
CGY         8
ALB          6
LET           4
UBC         2
UFV         1              

About the Canada West Women's Rugby Sevens Series:
2017 marks the first season of the Canada West Women's Rugby Sevens Series, which has been made possible thanks to Canada West's partnership with B2ten and Rugby Canada. Through their joint support, which will include scholarship opportunities for players at all six competing institutions, B2ten and Rugby Canada are committed to helping Canadian female athletes pursue their athletic careers, including an opportunity to progress to the national team.

The inaugural Canada West Women's Rugby Sevens Series champion will be crowned February 19 at the University of Victoria, as determined by cumulative series points.

2017 Canada West Women's Rugby Sevens Series tournament dates: University of Alberta (Jan. 20-21), University of Victoria (Feb. 4 and 5) and University of British Columbia (Feb. 18 and 19).