The Scion Rugby Academy Takes the Championship in First Two Tournaments

The Scion Sirens have started the 2016 7's season undefeated with two tournament wins.

The Academy kicked off its inaugural 7's season, as an official ODA on June 1 with its first practice. Two and a half weeks later, the Scion women took the Monk Vaughn 7s tournament in Richmond, VA.

With four of the elite side players (Stacy Bridges, Kiki Morgan, Sam Pankey and Kimber Rozier) sidelined in preparation for the upcoming Super Series, the college players, like Dana Briosos and Kathryn Hobbs, stepped up and played some excellent rugby. Their play, along with consistent performances from Niamh Byrne and Kylie Noll, as well as some smashing hits and runs from Abby Gustaitis, Sarah Parsons and Emily Fulbrook combined to turn Scion into an unstoppable force.

Scion won their pool play against a tough DC Furies side and the always-formidable NOVA squad, put down James River in a cross-pool match, and then went on to dominate Norfolk and NOVA B in the semi finals and finals respectively. Not only did they go undefeated, the Scion Sirens only allowed their opponents a total of 4 tries on the day.

Their second tournament of the season was a MAC Qualifier in Wilmington, DE. Scion opened the day with a thrashing of Doylestown, 44-5, followed by another whopping victory against NOVA B, 29-5. Again, it was a combination of consistent play and some outstanding runs and hits that led Scion to victory, and with the addition of Leigh Thierfelder and Maggie Myles to the roster, Scion added some depth.

The semi finals pitted Scion against NOVA A, and it would be the Sirens' toughest game of the day. Scion managed to pull out a 7-point victory against a strong NOVA squad. This win catapulted the Scion Rugby Academy into the finals against Philly.

Philly would give Scion another tough match, though not quite the nail biter that NOVA gave them. Scion took home the championship trophy with a 24-14 victory against Philly, a 2015 National qualifying team.

Next up for the Scion Rugby academy is the fun-in-the-sun tournament in Cape Fear, NC. Though this isn't a MAC qualifier, the Sirens hope to continue their winning streak and take home some prize money.

Four Scion Academy Residents Will Represent the USA In July's Super Series

Among the 26 players chosen to don the red, white and blue for the Women's National 15s team in Utah, there are four Scion Academy residents. Stacey Bridges, Samantha Pankey and Kimber Rozier, three original Scion Academy residents, are no strangers to the international stage and will potentially add to their caps total in a couple of weeks. Kiki Morgan, from Brown University and current Scion Academy resident, will look to suit up for the Eagles in her first international match.

All four players recently competed in the WNT Top 50 camp in Greeley, CO, which Pete Steinberg described as "the most competitive camp I have had in my 5 years as the head coach of the Eagles."

The Super Series, hosted in conjunction with Rugby Utah and Utah Sports Commission, and produced by First15 Sport Performance, will feature 6 matches, pitting 4 teams from the Top 6 in the world against one another. The Eagles will play France on July 1 (5pm MT), Canada on July 5 (5pm MT) and England on July 9 (3pm MT).

The Eagles seek to ride the momentum of last year's Super Series, in which they beat Canada and played some wonderfully skilled and hard hitting rugby against New Zealand and England, and the uber competitive Top 50 camp into this year's event. Like last year, a good number of players, 7 to be exact, will potentially step on the field for the first time as Eagles.

Not only will four Scion Academy residents represent the USA, but 3 other players, selected to the roster and reserve roster have competed with past Scion teams--Cheta Emba, Alycia Washington and Lauren Rhode, This Eagles squad is an exciting mix of some young, explosive speedsters and experienced, athletic veterans, who hope to leave a mark, or several, in Utah this July.

Stay tuned for updates on where you can find the matches and post-match recaps.