Orlando’s Stephanie Browne / Photo: Mean Photography (see more)
The South held its largest women’s club 7s championship in Atlanta on Saturday, with six of the eight teams eligible for nationals qualification. Reigning champion Orlando welcomed the expanded competition and got the push it was looking for en route to a third-straight title. The Florida squad will take the top seed out of the region to nationals and head to Minneapolis on Aug. 12-13 alongside South runner-up Atlanta.
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Orlando runs a little younger this year. The 7s team has always drawn heavily from the University of Central Florida – seven of the 11 nationals-bound players are current students or recent grads – but the core of those players has been in the 7s program for a couple of years now. The squad is missing six players who competed at last year’s nationals, but that shift has seen new players step into leadership roles.
“Jackie Edge has really shown up this year,” said Evan Haigh, who coaches alongside Raoul Besse. “She’s our kicker, a prop, and is a big work horse who has played a huge amount of minutes. … She had a great nationals last year and has all the prerequisites you’d want out of top-tier talent.”
Haigh is happy to have Cassidy Davis, who missed the 2016 season with an ACL injury and is back to captain the squad. She mans the 9-10 helm alongside Jennifer Fasano, who has also stepped up her performance this summer.
Edge wraps up an Atlanta 2 player.
Florida was well represented at the South championship and took an extra seed due to the True South’s absence. All three teams – Orlando, Phoenix and new entity Miami (unrelated to the senior women’s club, Fort Miami) – advanced to the semifinals.
“It shows that our level is on the upswing,” Haigh said of the Florida scene. “It’s a big difference to four seasons ago when it was just Atlanta and Orlando doing home-and-away series [to qualify for 7s nationals]. That was tough. … Now we have eight teams [at South championships], six that were eligible. There were some teams there that were in the learning stages of 7s, but that’s where you start.”
Orlando defeated Atlanta 2 22-5, Savannah 27-0 and Miami 14-7 during pool play, then shut out Phoenix 17-0 in the semifinals. On the other side of the bracket, Atlanta topped Phoenix 12-0, Southern Pines 47-0 and Columbia 36-5 during pool play, and then eliminated Miami with a 17-5 semifinal win.
Kennesaw State standout Caitlane Fricia with Atlanta
In the final, the Harlequins scored two first-half tries but then Orlando settled into its defense and controlled the second half, eventually winning 20-10 for the top berth out of the region.
“We played our best game against Atlanta. They were tough and had a good offensive threat,” Haigh reflected on the overall competition. “It’s hard because everyone always rises to a higher level in the final – but the most exciting game was against Miami. We had a 14-point halftime lead and then we had to hold on. Not letting them score, that was special.”
Although Orlando is young and missing half of last year’s team, only one current player has never played at nationals before. The team will also get a boost when Cortney Kuehl and Jesenia Torres return to the lineup as they come off of injury. Additionally, the roster boasts players who have elite experience – like Chula Vista vets Stephanie Browne and Jessica Warner. Both have international-level speed and score tries, and Warner played for the USA Falcons in Las Vegas this year.
Agnes Fuerst tackles Atlanta captain Monique Compito
“Every coach wants to win the whole tournament,” Haigh spoke to goals at nationals. “We’re a division 2 club and we don’t come from the most competitive area. We would love to make it out of our pool and then see what happens.”
Orlando will compete in Pool D against Mid-Atlantic runner-up NOVA, the Pacific North champion, and the Midwest runner-up. The latter two teams will be decided this Saturday, July 29. Atlanta will compete in Pool C against Red River champion American Rugby Pro Training Center, Pacific South champion San Diego and Atlantic North runner-up Beantown.
SOUTH 7s CHAMPIONSHIP
POOL PLAY
Atlanta 12-0 Phoenix
Atlanta 47-0 Southern Pines
Atlanta 36-5 Columbia
Phoenix 22-5 Columbia
Phoenix 30-0 Southern Pines
Columbia 27-0 Southern Pines
Orlando 22-5 Atlanta 2
Orlando 27-0 Savannah
Orlando 14-7 Miami
Miami 38-0 Savannah
Miami 33-0 Atlanta 2
Atlanta 2 22-5 Savannah
Semifinals
Orlando 17-0 Phoenix
Atlanta 17-5 Miami
Final
Orlando 20-10 Atlanta