OSHAWA, Ont. - The Oshawa Vikings Rugby Club won the U23 Women's/University division title at the Tropical 7s in Tampa, Florida, featuring several players and coaches from the Durham College women's rugby team.
The Tropical 7s is an international rugby sevens annual competition, attracting elite teams from around the world and offering competition from the U12 to Senior age groups. This year's edition of the festival took place at the Tampa Sportsplex.
There was a heavy DC presence on the Vikings squad, including DC players Carlene Closs, Amber Edgerton, Danika Johnston, Daniella Kimevski, Kiera Kuebeck, Emma Nagy, Hayden Venedam, Camryn Wood and incoming recruit Taylor Wood, while Chris McKee and Peter Clayton served on the coaching staff.
Oshawa opened the pool phase with three matches on Friday, defeating the University of Florida and Penn State University by 27-5 score lines and blanked Florida international University 48-0.
The Vikings closed out the pool phase on Saturday with two shutout wins, defeating Emory & Henry University 51-0 and Coastal Carolina University 36-0.
Placing first in Pool A, the Vikings clinched themselves a spot in the championship final against Davenport University from Grand Rapids, Michigan, who topped Pool B with a 4-0 record.
Davenport played tough, but the Vikings came out on top with a 19-14 championship final win.
The squad returns to Canada following an undefeated weekend as they prepare for their club seasons this summer with the 2025 OCAA Women's Rugby Sevens campaign kicking off again in September.
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