On Saturday Apr 5, Mary Washington traveled to the Mid Atlantic Rugby Conference (MARC) 7s Automatic Qualifer (AQ) at the University of Maryland.  The winner of the AQ advanced to the National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) 7s Championship.  Including UMW, the contest hosted 16 teams, with entries that included American, Georgetown, Salisbury, Temple, Delaware, George Mason, Kutztown, Maryland, UPenn, Coastal Carolina, William & Mary, George Washington, VCU, UNC Charlotte, and Towson.  Eyes were on Coastal Carolina, as they had already won two AQs.  Playing in Mary Washington's pool were Kutztown, George Mason, and Delaware.  After Pool Play, the teams were reseeded, with the top 8 advancing to the single-elimination Winner's Cup.
 
Just prior to the AQ, UMW received news that George Mason had unexpectedly withdrawn from the competition.  This gave Mary Washington a victory, with a forfeit by George Mason.  To advance to the Winner's Cup, UMW now need just one victory in Pool Play.
 
UMW's first pool match was against Kutztown, a team that soundly defeated UMW's 15s side in the fall.  Although Mary Washington got off to a slow start, their pre-game jitters disappeared as rookies Josephine Lent, Rachel Limani, Lexy Krug scored tries.  Adding two more tries for UMW was Sophomore Ava Ward.  With Ward converting 3 of the tries, the final score was Mary Washington 31 - Kutztown 5.
 
In their second pool match of the day, UMW faced Delaware, who earlier defeated Kutztown.  Mary Washington got off to a quick start, as Junior Nyah Speicher scored 3 consecutive tries.  by Ava Ward and Josephine Lent each added two additional tries for Mary Washington.  Kicking conversions again for UMW, Ward was able to slot 3 conversations.  The Mary Washington defense completely shutdown all of Delaware's offense attacks, not allowing a single point throughout the match, making the final score Mary Washington 43 - Delaware 0.
 
At the end of the day's pool play, the teams were reseeding based on point differential.  While 12 other teams played 3 games, Mary Washington, with only 2 games played, made a statement as they were seeded #2 of the 16 teams.  Seeded ahead of UMW was Towson University.
 
Moving into the quarterfinals, Mary Washington faced Virginia Commonwealth.  Perhaps several victories over VCU earlier this season gave the UMW side too much confidence.  At times, the team appeared to struggle against VCU.  Working harder than they needed, Mary Washington still managed to pull off a victory over VCU.  Scoring for Mary Washington was Josaphine Lent, Nyah Speicher, Ava Barnes, and Ava Ward.  Ward managed two conversions, to make the final score Mary Washington 26 - Virginia Commonwealth 0.
 
In the semifinals, Mary Washington faced Georgetown.  Mary Washington increased their pace of play in the match, improving on the previous performance against VCU.  The UMW defense again shutdown their opponent and produced tries from Ava Ward, Josephine Lent (2), Ava Bares, Macy Burnette, and Haley Smith.  Ward was only able to convert once, making the final score Mary Washington 32 - Georgetown 0.
 
In the MARC 7s AQ Final, Mary Washington faced Towson, with the winner getting an automatic advancement as one of the 16 teams moving on to the Collegiate Rugby Championship (CRC).  Towson struck first, as they scored a try two minutes into the match. Mary Washington received the kickoff and advanced down the field.  A defense miscue by Towson allowed Nyah Speicher to make a break and put Mary Washington on the board.  Ava Ward was able to convert, making the score 7-5 in UMW's favor.  The game went back and forth for the remainder of the half, without either team scoring.  In the second half, Mary Washington twice got caught out of position and Towson was able to take advance of both opportunities, scoring twice.  Unfortunately, the Mary Washington offense was unable to put any more points on the board.  When the final whistle blew, Mary Washington was handed their first defeat of the day, losing 15-7 against Towson.
 
Next up for UMW Women's Rugby is the Mid Atlantic Rugby Conference Championship on Apr 12, again at the University of Maryland.  Due to the level of play at the MARC 7s AQ, NCR has decided that the MARC Conference winner will also advance to the CRCs.  The MARC 7s Championship will consist of 8 teams, with entries that include American, Temple, Delaware, Kutztown, Maryland, William & Mary, and Towson.  Mary Washington is scheduled to face Towson in their opening match.