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Lindenwood now joins the ranks of Norwich and Penn State as teams that have held 7s and 15s national titles in the same season. The Lions recouped a pool play loss to Penn State with a shutout win in the final, and crossed some incredibly talented competition in between.
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Norwich still leads the USA Rugby 7s books, having won the first three national championships from 2011-13, and in spring 2012, the Cadets added a DII 15s national championship to the trophy case. In 2015, Penn State won the unofficial trifecta of championships, winning national titles in DI 15s and 7s, and the CRC 7s invitational in the course of a month. Penn State held the CRC title from 2013-15.
Lindenwood entered the 2018 USA Rugby College 7s National Championship not only as the reigning champion but also the recently named DI Elite titleholder. The Lions have earned the right to be confident, but the DI Elite eight-team bracket left little room for gimme games. The day started with a 17-7 win over Central Washington and then a 17-12 loss to Penn State.
“The pool play matches this year were by far the toughest we have ever experienced in any 7s competition. Penn State, Dartmouth and Central Washington are incredibly competitive teams,” Lindenwood coach Billy Nicholas surveyed day one. “After the close loss to Penn State in pool play we understood that eventually a loss was going to come but it was how we reacted to it that would define our culture moving forward. We broke down the video and came up with a game plan moving forward to the final match of the day. The team knew that it was a must-win against Dartmouth to advance and they have shown time and time again their resiliency.”
Lindenwood legged out a 34-7 win to set up a semifinal Life University in what is now a classic rivalry, despite the programs’ relative youth. Thing is this rivalry never disappoints and the lead-changing affair evolved. A last-minute try from Kodi Barlow put the Lions ahead for good, and MA Sorensen winner McKenzie Hawkins converted for the 17-14 win.
“We know Life is a talented program and the hype around the match-up, but we try not to play into it. We treated this semifinal like any other and put the focus on ourselves and what we needed to do well to execute as a team and earn the result we were looking for,” Nicholas explained. “The game-winning try was thrilling to watch and is just another reminder that anything can happen in 7s. We have been on the opposite end of game-winning scores before, so it felt great to come away with that win.”
On the other side of the bracket, Penn State defeated Army 36-14 for the final’s berth.
“We knew the match against Penn State would be tough especially after day one. We didn’t win in any area of the game against them day one and that was very uncharacteristic for us. It was an opportunity for us on the national stage to show ourselves what we could do,” Nicholas confirmed an eagerness for the rematch.
Another highly skilled, fast-paced game evolved, but Lindenwood made good on its adjustments and sent Nika Paogofie-Buyten, Barlow, Ariana Lewis and Sativa Tarau-Peehikuru across for tries in the 20-0 win and repeat 7s title.
“We did a really great job of coming together and working well as a team. This was a special win for the program as every single match was a challenge on the way to earning this accolade,” Nicholas tipped his hat to the field.
Caring De Freitas, who has an incredible story, was named championship MVP.
“Caring had a standout tournament for us and was a well deserved MVP selection,” Nicholas praised. “We have such a great team and so many talented players bring their strengths to the table but time and time again Caring was able to create something from nothing or make a try saving tackle. She leads by example in the way she plays and the attitude she brings towards the game.”
There’s one more big fixture for college programs: CRC 7s. Lindenwood, Penn State and Life will all head to Chester, Pa., in fewer than two weeks, and will be joined by Bloomsburg as representatives from the USA Rugby College 7s National Championship. Bloomsburg finished atop the DII teams in the national Open 7s division.
“I’m grateful for all of our alumni that have paved the way for our results, our administration and school support, our friends and family in their support of the program and our current Lions that have worked so hard throughout the year being a student-athlete and achieving the level of success they have,” Nicholas concluded. “Winning both 15s and 7s at the highest level is something we couldn’t have done without the help of so many.”
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