(Photo courtesy Carlos Morales, USA Rugby)
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Three peat!
The Norwich University women's rugby team won its third straight USA Rugby College 7s National Championship with a come-from-behind 17-10 victory over James Madison University in the finals on Sunday night at Bryan Park.
After falling behind 10-0 to James Madison, Norwich scored 17 unanswered points to continue their dominance of the 7s code of rugby as the only team to win the USA Rugby national championship in its three-year history.
Trailing 10-0 in the second half, sophomore flyhalf Hannah Bell (Newberg, Ore.) finally got Norwich on the board taking a pass from senior wing Joya Clark (Scotia, N.Y.) to touch down in the end goal for the Cadets' first try of the match and cut the deficit to 10-5.
Just a couple of minutes later, Clark tied the match up at 10 with a burst of speed through the middle and a sliding try over the end goal between the uprights. Bell gave Norwich its first lead of the match by successfully converting her kick to give the Cadets a 12-10 lead that it would never relinquish.
Senior fullback Rose Bernheim (Mountain Home AFB, Idaho) put the finishing touches on the match by scoring her tournament-leading ninth try of the weekend to put Norwich on top 17-10.
"The wins this weekend are a testament to the character of our team," NU head coach Austin Hall said. "We came from behind in four out of our six matches and it was great to see the way our team came together even after losing some players throughout the tournament to injuries to overcome adversity."
"We're all heart, character, integrity. The teams that we played this year forced us to up our game, but our girls don't give up, we chase everything and defend our try line like it's our last breath. We've always done things a little differently with the way we played the game and I couldn't be happier right now."
Bernheim was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament for the second time after she claimed MVP honors as well in Norwich's inaugural title run in 2011. Bernheim scored at least one try in all six of Norwich's matches. Clark was the MVP in 2012, making it three straight years a NU player has earned the honor.
"We go to this tournament for players like Rose and the rest of the seniors, it means a lot to them," Hall said. "Rose's play is inspirational. She always figures out how to score when she needs to do. Her defense has improved so much too and that was put on display all weekend. Without Ally Day here this year, she stepped up in a big way and she'll probably go down as the greatest sevens players in history of college rugby."
Norwich advanced to the championship match after beating Indiana University 10-5 in the Quarterfinals to open its Sunday slate. The Cadets also avenged their loss in the 2013 USA Rugby Division I 15s National Championship to Penn State in the semifinals. After falling behind 5-0 to Penn State, Norwich reeled off 17 straight points as well to knock off the perennial powerhouse Nittany Lions.
Bernheim scored with 20 seconds in the Indiana match to lift Norwich to the victory. Senior flanker Jackie Derocher (Northwood, N.H.) also scored for the Cadets in the quarterfinal match.
After Clark tied the match with Penn State, sophomore Riley Blankenship (Lyndonville, Vt.) gave Norwich its first lead of the match with a try late in the match to put NU up 10-5. Bernheim put the exclamation point on the victory with her eighth try of the tournament.
Norwich is 17-0 all-time in the USA Rugby College 7s National Championships. The Cadets have outscored their opponents 504-52.
Norwich has now won four national championships in the last 2.5 years with three 7s titles and one USA Rugby Division II 15s national title. The Cadets will look to win their fifth national championship in two weeks when they travel down to Auburndale, Fla. for the American Collegiate Rugby Association (ACRA) Division I Final Four. Norwich will face Northern Iowa on Saturday, Dec. 7 in one semifinal, while Navy meets Army in the other semifinal. The winners meet Sunday for the inaugural ACRA Division I National Championship.
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