On Saturday Mar 29, Mary Washington hosted a six-team round robin 7s tournament.  The tournament is part of the Mid-Atlantic Rugby Conference (MARC) 7s series, with points being awarded towards the seeding into the MARC Championship on April 12.  Entered into the tournament were two teams from Mary Washington (A & B), two teams from William & Mary (A & B), VCU, and George Mason University.
 
Mary Washington B lost their two pool play matches to William & Mary A (35-0) and VCU (38-5).  However, Mary Washington A won their two pool play matches to George Mason (47-0) and William & Mary B (48-0).  As a result, the B-side teams from Mary Washington and William & Mary faced each other for 5th place.  The Mary Washington B-side played their best rugby of the tournament, with a strong victory over William & Mary B by the score of 22-0.
 
Additionally, the two pool play victories by Mary Washington A-side advanced the team to the semifinals against VCU.  The game was controlled by Mary Washington, as they went on to win 39-0, securing a spot in the finals against William & Mary A.
 
The finals saw a tightly contested match with Mary Washington holding a 7-0 lead at half with a converted try by Ava Ward.  Shortly after the second half kickoff, William & Mary capitalized on a Mary Washington miscue, putting in a try and cutting the lead to just 7-5.  After the score, Mary Washington's offense took control of possession, slowly marching down the field, and chewing up valuable clock-time.  Ultimately, William & Mary got out of position and Jo Lent made a run around the end to bring the score up to 12-5 in favor of Mary Washington.  The ensuing kickoff pinned William & Mary deep in their territory.  The Mary Washington defense held William & Mary, forcing a penalty.  With no time remaining, Mary Washington won the scrum and kicked the ball out, sealing Mary Washington's 12-5 victory over William & Mary.
 
Next up for UMW Women's Rugby is MARC 7s Automatic Qualifer on Apr 5 & 6.  The winner of the Automatic Qualifier will advance to the Collegiate Rugby National 7s Championship.  The Automatic Qualifer will also be hosted at the University of Maryland.  The contest will host 16 teams, with entries that include American, Georgetown, Salisbury, Temple, Delaware, George Mason, Kutztown, Maryland, UPenn, Coastal Carolina, William & Mary, George Washington, VCU, UNC Charlotte, and Towson.