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.