The Mid-Atlantic Conference (MAC) is one tournament away from naming its two representatives to the club 7s national championship, and Scion Academy and NOVA are the frontrunners for those berths. The pair advanced to last weekend’s qualifier final, but weather prevented the title match from unfurling.
Nevertheless, NOVA exited the tournament on a high note. Injuries and retirements meant that coach Dana Creager along with co-captains Kelley Frank and Kathryn Hemlock had to focus on integrating new, fresh talent into the ranks. The early portion of the season saw some interesting weekends unfold, but now NOVA is starting to sync.
“We came out and executed our game plan the way we wanted to, and we’ve gotten to the point where the younger and older players are on the same page,” Frank said of Saturday. “Offensively we have a goal and each person knows her role. Defensively, people are recognizing when to do certain things and where to be. It just takes reps to get used to people, and the reps are paying off now that we’re this deep in the season.”
The top side has approximately 15 players vying for selection. Of the younger class, watch for current UVA players like Summer Harris-Jones and Joy Jefferson, who distinguished themselves as strong, powerful ballcarriers during the DI college spring championship, and Collegiate All-American Nicole Benedetti, who competed in the recent games against the Canadian Maple Leafs in Salt Lake City.
“Nicole brings a lot of creativity to the field,” Frank praised the center and sometimes 7s forwards. “She’s always probing and making things happen in the middle of the field. She’s got a lot of experience, too.”
NOVA (56.5 pts.) is currently in second place in the MAC standings behind Scion Academy (64.5). Third-place Philadelphia (52) is statistically in the race, as MAC prepares for the final qualifier in Richmond, Va., this Saturday.
Frank is feeling good about NOVA’s preparedness, and Scion will serve as the measuring stick. The reigning MAC champion has increased in strength since transitioning to a National Development Academy (NDA) this year and boasts many Eagles, All-Americans and pool players during the summer 7s season.
“They have some very talented athletes who are drawn to those programs,” Frank confirmed. “Scion challenges us, and it’s great to play against that level of competition. Like when we played [fellow NDA] ARPTC [at Cape Fear 7s], you learn a lot when you test yourself like that. That’s the case every time we play Scion.
“At the same time, it’s hard when you consider that some of us on the club side, we’re playing for fun – and yes, we want high-level competition and we’re dedicated – but it’s different than some who’s joined an academy and looking for a much higher level,” Frank spoke to Scion’s influence on the MAC league. “It’s certainly been a change to have those teams thrown in the mix with the club teams.”
While academy teams at nationals is a relatively new thing, there have always been all-star teams competing, dating back to the Boston Belles, Youngbloodz, Chicago Lions and more, that pooled the region’s best talent. NOVA’s long history of 7s success has seen the Virginia side retain its competitiveness while 7s specialization increases.
“Nationals is always the goal, regardless of who ends up being able to play or who got to the team,” Frank said. “We have an ambitious and driven group. Even the newbies are dedicated to the cause. People know that from the get-go and commit to the workout plans, the ballhandling plans, and getting to practice – some players travel a couple of hours each way.”
The MAC champion will compete in Pool D at nationals against the Hawaii and South champions and Pacific North runner-up. The MAC runner-up will compete in Pool C against Pacific South and Midwest champions and the Atlantic North runner-up, Boston.
“Right now we’re just focused on getting ourselves there, and once that task is done, we’ll see how it pans out,” Frank said. “We just want to play great rugby. Hopefully we get to nationals, we perform against other club teams, and play our best rugby all season.”
