[Aug. 4 Update: Pools have been updated since first posting in Xplorer. Thanks to Your Scrumhalf Connection for the heads-up. Follow USA Club Rugby for the latest.]
USA Club Rugby has released its pools for the women’s 7s national championship, which occurs Saturday-Sunday, Aug. 9-10 in Cottage Grove, Wis. All 16 teams will contest pool games on day one and then divide into Cup and Bowl brackets on Sunday. Teams will play out to place. [lead photo: Alex Ho @hoiho_photo]
Reigning national champion Scion headlines Pool A and is joined by the champs from Red River (Dallas Harlequins), Northeast (Boston) and the South (Atlanta 2.0 Selects).
POOL A
#1 Scion – Mid-Atlantic AQ
#8 Dallas Harlequins – Red River AQ
#9 Boston – Northeast AQ
#16 Atlanta 2.0 Selects – South AQ
Midwest champion Chicago North Shore leads Pool B and faces three at-large opponents on Saturday: Pacific Northwest runner-up Oregon Sharks, South runner-up Phoenix and Life West out of NorCal, which did not receive an automatic qualifier to nationals this year.
POOL B
#2 Chicago North Shore – Midwest AQ
#7 Oregon Sharks – at-large (Pacific Northwest #2)
#10 Phoenix (Fla.) – at-large (South #2)
#15 Life West – at-large (NorCal)
Pool C involves two automatic qualifying teams — Pacific Northwest’s Washington Athletic Club and Frontier’s Magic Wolves, which is a combination of the Colorado Gray Wolves and Rocky Mountain Magic — and two at-larges in NorCal’s Berkeley and Mid-Atlantic #3 Philadelphia.
POOL C
#3 Washington AC – Pacific Northwest AQ
#6 Magic Wolves – Frontier AQ
#11 Berkeley All Blues – at-large (NorCal)
#14 Philadelphia – at-large (Mid-Atlantic #3)
Pool D goes coast to coast, with fifth-seeded San Diego accounting for the west coast and Mid-Atlantic runner-up Phoenixville repping the East Coast. The Chicago Lions return as the Midwest runners-up and so do the HEB Hurricanes, the Red River runner-up.
POOL D
#4 Chicago Lions – at-large (Midwest #2)
#5 San Diego Surfers – SoCal AQ
#12 HEB Hurricanes – at-large (Red River #2)
#13 Phoenixville – at-large (Mid-Atlantic #2)