All-Star Sevens Championships Get Underway at Founders Field

CHESWICK, Pa. – Defending champions, the Mid-Atlantic Men and Northeast Women still remain in the hunt to retain their 2007 All-Star Sevens Championship titles, as both finished atop their respective pools at the close of day one at Founders Field, near Pittsburgh on Saturday.

Men’s competition
In the Men’s rounds, No. 4 seeded Southern California had the best performance on the day, finishing 3-0 in the pool rounds to advance to the Cup Semi Finals against second-place Pool A finishers Midwest. The Midwest team got past the College All-Stars and Northeast but fell one try short of MARFU, 19-14 in pool play.

Meanwhile, Mid-Atlantic won Pool A with wins against the College All-Stars and the Midwest. The defending champions are set to square off with the West in the other Cup Semi Final match at 11 a.m.

Now left to duke it out for the Bowl are the College All-Stars, which face the South when Men’s competition resumes at 9:20 a.m. The All-Stars enjoyed a convincing 32-14 victory over the Northeast, but could not quite muster enough scoring oomph to overcome the Midwest or MARFU, and the South was held winless in day one.

Left without some of their key players, last year’s runners-up from the Pacific Coast finished third in Pool A and now face Northeast, which finished 1-2 on the day.

Women’s Competition
Three-time consecutive champions the Northeast Women continued their reign over the field in the pool rounds, going undefeated on the day to earn the top spot from Pool A. The NRU now meets the Midwest in the Cup Semis, a rematch of last year’s championship game.

The other semi final match-up features top Pool B finishers Mid-Atlantic and the tournament’s No. 8 seed, the West. After finishing at the bottom of the heap last time around, the West ended its day with wins against both the South and Pacific Coast.

Despite an admirable showing, the Under-23 Women finished out of the Cup contention and now face the South. The U-23s tied MARFU in a hard fought opening match and earned a victory over Southern California but lost out to the Midwest.

Following a 1-3 finish on the day, with a lone 19-10 victory over the South, Pacific Coast goes on to play its Bowl Semi Final match against Southern California, which enters day two still looking for its first win.

Competition resumes on Sunday morning at 9 a.m and culminates in the Women’s and Men’s All-Star Sevens Cup Championship matches at 1:40 and 2:10 p.m., respectively. Admission to the event held at Founders Field (101 Eisele Road, Cheswick, PA) is FREE. For more information on the USA Rugby Championship series, visit www.usarugby.org/goto/usar_championships.

USA Rugby All-Star Sevens Championships – Founders Field, Cheswick, Pa.

Day 1 Results – Round 1 – Men

Northeast 17, MARFU 14
College All-Stars 12, Midwest 14
Pacific Coast 31, South 12
SoCal 19, West 7

Women
Northeast 22, West 12
South 10, Pacific Coast 19
Midwest 17, SoCal 5
Under-23s 5, MARFU 5

Round 2 – Men
MARFU 19, Midwest 14
College All-Stars 32, Northeast 14
West 28, Pacific 14
SoCal 24, South 7

Women
Northeast 24, Pacific 10
West 19, South 12
MARFU 5, Midwest 0
Under-23s 17, SoCal 7

Round 3 – Men
MARFU 22, College All-Stars 12
Midwest 40, Northeast 7
SoCal 24, Pacific 12
West 15, South 14

Women
Northeast 21, South 0
West 17, Pacific Coast
Midwest 22, Under-23s 7
MARFU 15, SoCal 5

Day 2 Schedule
9:00am Pac Coast vs. So Cal (Women’s Bowl Semi Finals)
9:20am College All-Stars vs. South (Men’s Bowl Semi Finals)
9:40am Under-23s vs. South(Women’s Bowl Semi Finals)
10:00am Pacific Coast vs. Northeast(Men’s Bowl Semi Finals)
10:20am Northeast vs. Midwest(Women’s Cup Semi Finals)
10:40am MARFU vs. West (Women Cup Semi Finals)
11:00am MARFU vs. West (Men’s Cup Semi Finals)
11:20am SoCal vs. Midwest(Men Cup Semi Finals)
11:40am 7th/8th Place (Women)
12:00pm 7th/8th Place (Men)
12:20pm Bowl Final (Women)
12:40pm Bowl Final (Men)
1:00pm Plate Final (Women)
1:20pm Plate Final (Men)
1:40pm Cup Final (Women)
2:10pm Cup Final (Men)

Midwest Roster
Christy Ringgenberg Minnesota Valkyries
Teena Mastrangelo Chicago North Shore
Pam Kosanke Chicago North Shore
Kelly White, Ann Arbor
Nicole Helmer, Wisconsin
Gabe Fidelman, Minnesota Valkyries
Tonya Ansel, Minnesota Valkyries
Jenny Kuchar, St. Louis
Skye Leary, Cleveland
Holly Thom, Cleveland

Coach: Mark Santiago

Northeast Roster
Alison Price New York
Ida Bernstein Keystone
Tanya Carlson New York
Amy Daniels Beantown
Jenna Flateman New York
Yancy Graf Beantown
Tyshwn Henry New York
Phaidra Knight New York
Daniela Mogro New York
Ines Rodriguez Keystone
Jennifer Sinkler Keystone
Kitt Wagner Beantown

Coaches Chris Ryan, Andrew Fautley
Manager: JoAnne Ward

South Roster
Leah Barnes Atlanta
Nicole Belkin Orlando
Rosalind Chou Florida State University
Brittany Fabbri University of Florida
Carly Harrington Atlanta
Lori Light Orlando
Pat Neder Atlanta
Lindsey Stephenson Orlando
Sue Uchneat Clemson
Becky Urion University of Florida

Coach Mike May

Pacific Coast Roster
Stephanie Bruce Berkeley All-Blues
Petrie Quigley Berkeley All-Blues
Hannah Cho Berkleye All-Blues
Margret Sharp Berkley All-Blues
Lo Stander Berkley All-Blues
Monica Martin de Bustamante Berkeley All-Blues via Dartmouth College
Carrie White Chico State
Haldre Rogers Seattle RFC
Elaine Schlarbe Berkeley All-Blues via U23 7’s program
Lauren Groth St. Mary’s College
Ashley Groefsema Berkeley All-blues

Coach Laura Cabrera

West Roster
Claire Gregorich Glendale
Fanny Guiot Austin
Angela Hurt Kansas City
Eleanor Karvoski Little Rock
Kim Klahn Glendale
Tara McCarthy Glendale
Melissa McKibben Kansas City
Stephanie Miller Glendale
Jenn Nelson Kansas City
Donna Thomas Little Rock
Katie Thoreson Glendale
Heidi Whitman Austin

Coach Laura Hertel

Southern California Roster
Julia Anderson UC San Diego
Alyssa Barker San Luis Obispo
Leanna Corpus San Diego Surfers
Valerie Griffeth San Diego Surfers
Kelly Griffin UC Los Angeles
Kirsten Hartos San Diego Surfers
Tikvah Hayes San Diego Surfers
Beth Hettig Belmont Shore
Monique Measures San Diego Surfers
Shaina Turley San Diego Surfers
Ann Wang Belmont Shore
Amanda Wilson © San Diego Surfers

Coach Jaxs Roper

MARFU Roster
Stacy Bennett, NOVA
Beth Black, NOVA
Kristen Campbell, NOVA
Dana Creager, NOVA
Caroline Duck
worth, NOVA
Jessica Hammond, Furies
CJ Hildreth, NOVA
Lauren Hoeck, NOVA
Katie Miller, NOVA
Emily Record, Philadelphia
Jennifer Starkey, NOVA
Eli White, Furies

Coach Nancy Fitz

USA U23s
Kirsten Ahrendt Keystone
Tess Kohanski Syracuse
Alison Worman Penn State
Kate Daley Penn State
Jess Watkins Stanford
Lauren Rosso PSU
Nathalie Monroig Shippensburg
Diana Zempel Navy
Sadie Anderson Fort Collins HS
Meghan Knight Colorado
Steph Burkhardt West Chester
Kati Dowty Beantown

Sue Parker, Pete Steinberg