British Columbia's U-18 women's provincial sevens program, with Merville's Madi Gold in the lineup, won their first major tournament on Friday afternoon, defeating American invitational side Atlantis 32-10 in the Las Vegas High School Invitational Sevens.
B.C. lost just one match during the 2014 tournament, falling 24-12 to Atlantis in the pool rounds. B.C. went 2-1 in the round robin with a 48-0 win over Swarm and a 29-0 victory over Canadian rivals Ontario.
On day two B.C. blanked Minnesota Tundra 53-0 in the quarter-finals then downed Seattle-based Serevi Selects 24-12 in the semifinals.
The Cup final featured a rematch of B.C. versus the previously-undefeated Atlantis. Atlantis drew first blood with a try in the opening minute but B.C. found their rhythm and responded with six straight scores
Houston, B.C.'s Jamie Beck led all scorers with three tries for 15 points and Lauren Kerr (Abbotsford) recorded a brace and added a convert for 12 points. Gold, who attends G.P. Vanier, also tallied a try to round out the scoring. Atlantis fought until the final whistle, running in a try for the 32-10 score.
"The calibre of athletes that are now coming into our sport are really making an impact and [as a result] our programs are of a higher quality," said B.C. assistant coach Jodie Cornell. "We played against some very stiff competition and saw some very skilled and well drilled American teams."
"I thought our performance was outstanding today," said B.C. head coach Brad Skene. "We were able to use a few games to see who fit in what positions and field our best lineups. The players were unselfish and stepped into roles that we asked them to so the team could succeed."
The Bowl went to BC invitational side Banshees after they defeated LA-based ICEF. For full tournament results visit: http://www.usasevens.com/las-vegas/las-vegas-invitational/.
– British Columbia Rugby Union
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