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.

Scion in Atlanta: Day 2

With both its Elite Side and High School Side in the semi-finals of the Atlanta 7's Festival, the Scion Academy had established the foundation for a successful tournament on their first day out. Heading into the second day of play, both sides were looking for more solid defensive stands and cohesive offensive series.

The Scion High School Side hit the ground running in the morning of the second day. Behind solid overall play, they beat a tough Summit team in the semi-finals, sending them into the finals against a very talented Atlantis team. Though they would strike first, Scion couldn't hold onto an early lead. The Atlantis offense was too much for them, and they wound up settling for second in the tournament. Of course, this isn't the result they wanted, however Scion can be proud of a second place finish with their first ever High School Side.

Day 1 for the Scion Elite Side was the Day of Defense, as no team could manage to put points on the board against them. However, Day 2 would start off on a very different footing for the Elites. The Northeast Academy came with their game faces in a snarl and with some great striking lines, were able to draw first blood against Scion. That first score for the NE Academy would also be their last, as the Scion Elites turned up the defensive pressure and turned on their offense. After ticking off 4 tries and an extra two on a kick, they beat the NE Academy 22-5 to move into the finals.

In the finals, the Scion Elites would face a familiar foe in ARPTC. In their first match of the tournament, the Elites held the women out of Arkansas scoreless. However, this recharged ARPTC would make the championship game a little closer, but in the end, not close enough. Scion was led in the finals by some strong runs from Emily Fulbrook and clutch decision making from Kimber Rozier, and they would beat ARPTC 24-5 and claim the Atlanta 7's Festival championship.

All in all, it was a great weekend for the Scion Rugby Academy. Not only were they able to come away with some hardware in their Elite Championship victory, but they sewed the seeds of growth in the Women's Rugby game by fielding their first High School side.

Scion in Atlanta: Day 1

The biggest news of the day, at the Atlanta 7's Tournament, was the USA's 12-5 defeat of New Zealand. Their victory against the Black Ferns landed them on top of their pool with an undefeated record, and gave the hometown crowd a great reason to fill the Kennesaw Stadium with a deluge of jubilant noise. It was an exciting game that gave USA Rugby fans something with which to ignite their American pride.

On the Festival side of the Atlanta 7's event, there was some great rugby as well from all divisions. The Scion Elite side opened the day with a shut-out victory against ARPTC. Led by powerful runs from players like Stacey Bridges and some great defensive play, including key turnovers from Abby Gustaitis, the Elite side maintained control of the ball for most of the game and continuously put points on the board.

In their second match of the day, the Elites once again shut-out their opponents. This time they gave Mad In Sevens a good thrashing. Elizabeth Trujilio was a menace around the breakdown, causing turnover after turnover, and on the offensive end, Sam Pankey put up a hat trick to give Scion a very large and sharp edge in this match.

The Scion High School Side played some stellar rugby as well. Like the Elite side, they went 2-0 on the day, beating the Norfolk Harvesters and Glendale. For the High School Side, going undefeated is a special thing, since this is the first time that some of these young ladies have ever played together.

However, with a team that was fully willing to work together and work with a wide range of talent-- bruisers like birthday girl, Hannah Moran, speedsters like Daz Williams, and work horses like Mikayla Lowe--the Scion High School Side was not only able to take the 'W' in both of their games, they showcased some great skill.

Both the Scion Elite Side and the Scion High School Side will compete in their divisions' semi-final rounds tomorrow morning, and both hope to bring home the cup from the Atlanta 7's Festival.

Scion In Sin City, Day 3

Unfortunately, Day 3 of rugby in Sin City wrapped up early for the Scion Elite side. They faced a tough South African side early in the morning, and though the Elites fought a good fight, they weren't able to put up enough points to grab the win against the Springboks.

South Africa jumped out to an early lead in the first half with a couple of tries. They were led by some physical play in the breakdown, and the breakdown was where Scion received a few penalties.

In the second half, Scion was able to control play a bit better, and with about two minutes left on the clock, they got on the board. However, South Africa wouldn't give up their lead, and put another try on the board following a good series of offensive phases, and the match ended with South Africa on top 17-7.

Though this wasn't the result Scion wanted, they, once again, played strong against an international side. Out of their five matches in Vegas, four of them were against international teams. Each of those four matches were were close, with 15 points being the biggest point difference (in the Great Britain match), and one ending in a Scion win (the Japan match).

All in all, the Scion Elite side left their mark on the Vegas 7s Tournament. They showed that they could play with the best in the world, and they will use their experience in Vegas to continue to build a successful 7s team and Development Academy.

Scion In Sin City, Day 2

So ends day 2 of the Las Vegas 7s Tournament. The Open Division wrapped up play today, and the Elite Division advanced through the quarterfinals. Both Scion sides, once again, played some great rugby.

The Scion Elite side started the day with a win over the Florida Selects. Florida came into the match without a win, and they were hungry for one. They played a physically intense game, but the Scion Elites matched that intensity and physicality. They maintained their composure, ran their system, and chalked up a 33-5 win behind some powerful play from forwards like Alycia Washington, Stacey Bridges and Sam Pankey.

In their quarterfinal match, the Scion Elite side faced a group of internationally capped players from Great Britain--players from England, Scotland and Wales. Once again, the Elites proved they could hang with some of the best in the world. However, they left a couple of scores on the field and couldn't manage to overcome a couple of early tries from GB. The Elites fell 15-0 to the GB Selects.

In the Open Division, the Scion Select Side won their quarterfinal match against Dark And Stormy, a Bermuda side, 29-5. Scion veteran players, like Leigh Theirfelder and Kylie Noll, are no stranger to Scion successes and would lead the Selects into the semi-finals against a British Columbia All-Star side.

A rough first half saw the Scion Selects down by a few tries, however they would rally in the second half to close the gap. Their second hand efforts would come up short in the end, and they fell in the semi-final match by a score.

Though the Scion Selects were hoping to come out on top of the Open Division, finishing in the top 4 isn't so bad. The BC team they faced went on to win the Open Division. Though that doesn't lessen the blow, it is a consolation knowing the only game the Selects lost was to the eventual champions.

Tomorrow will be the final day of play for Scion. The Elite side faces South Africa at 9:20am, and if they win, they will face the winner of Atavus v. Stars 1. The morning match will be the 4th international match for the Scion Elite side, and they hope to repeat their performance against Japan in pool play.

Scion In Sin City, Day 1

Day one of the Las Vegas 7s Tournament is in the books, and both the Scion Select and Elite sides had impressive showings, and both are in a position to compete for a place atop their respective podiums. 

The Scion Select side won all three of their matches. In fact, they handled their competition, not allowing any team to come close to victory against them. With speedsters, like Kylie Noll and Karmin Macedo racing around the outside of defenses and power runners like Jaime Albarelli and Jacie Vonada running through defenders the Scion Select side had no trouble scoring tries. And their defense was just as solid with some big hits coming from the likes of Megan Gilmore and Jasmine Harrison.

In the Elite division, the Scion Elite side opened the day of 7s with the first match of the morning against a strong French side. Though France bested the Elites, 12-0, Scion controlled the flow of the game, and had it not been for a few mistakes that turned into French breaks, the outcome may have been quite different.

Against a quick and scrappy Japan side, the Scion Elites played more composed and jumped out to an early lead in the first half behind some brilliant kicks from Kimber Rozier and streaking runs from Danielle Miano. The second half opened with another score from Emily Fullbrook, putting the Elites well ahead of the Japanese. However, Japan would rally and tick off a few tries in a row to close the gap to two, 26-24. In the end, Scion would hold on to that two-point lead and set themselves up for a chance to advance to the quarterfinals tomorrow.

The Scion Elites will kick off the day for Scion rugby tomorrow morning at 8:20am when they take on the Florida Select side, in their last game of pool play. A win against Florida will, most likely, put them into the quarterfinals.

The Scion Selects have already wrapped up their pool play and will meet Dark And Stormy in the Open Side Quarterfinals tomorrow morning at 9:00am. Both sides are expecting another day of great rugby and some exciting wins.

One final note, check out the view of Las Vegas from the balcony of the Cosmopolitan Hotel. Pretty sweet backdrop for dinner after a tough day of rugby, huh?