This article was underwritten in part by the Mickey Flacks Journalism Fund for Social Justice, a proud, innovative supporter of local news. To make a contribution go to sbcan.org/journalism_fund.
UC Santa Barbara’s women’s rugby team captured its first Rugby 7s national title in Indianapolis last month.
The team’s co-captain, Lexi Worley, said the championship win felt surreal. The team trained hard in the weeks before the tournament, she said, adding an extra Friday-morning practice and gym sessions. But, she said, they went to Indianapolis without expectations. It was, after all, the first national Rugby 7s tournament the team had attended.
Because it was their first year participating, the team entered unranked. During pool play, UCSB shutout UC Santa Cruz with a 12-0 win, and defeated U.S. Air Force 33-5, putting them in fourth seed. They then achieved another comfortable victory against San Jose State 31-10 in the quarterfinal match.
The team faced top-seed UC Berkeley in the semi-final, winning 12-10 by a conversion (a two-point kick made after scoring). That led the team to face last year’s champion in the Challenger Division, Stanford.
By halftime, the town was down by 7 points.
“We had to take a moment to say, ‘We’re here to compete,’” Head Coach Kelly Griffin said.
Sophomore Svara Deshmukh said the game against Stanford was the most challenging of the weekend. But, she said, players spent the game looking for the next chance to score.
UCSB shut out Stanford in the game’s second half and scored two tries, for a win of 22-10. Head Coach Griffin said the team’s organization on defense made the difference and that co-captain Worley pushed the pace of play. Amalia Galm, who made both scores, won tournament MVP.
Rugby 7s is the fast-paced variant of the game where each team fields seven players. Games are played in two seven-minute halves with an x minute halftime. For folks who watched Olympic rugby in previous summer games, they’ve watched Rugby 7s.
“Sevens is a game where you have to put the team first,” said Griffin, who competed on the 2016 Olympic team.
At the tournament, the College Rugby Association of America awarded Griffin the Pride of the Patch Award for her contributions to the sport.
Griffin said that as a club team, travel logistics fall on the players. She said the team organized their trip and raised funds to attend the tournament, alongside increased dedication to practices.
“What was really special about this group is how they loved the game and how much they wanted to work,” Griffin said.
This national championship fell at the start of the team’s 7s season. The team finished fourth in the Pacific Desert Rugby Conference in their winter season. The team will continue to play through the spring quarter.
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