The USA Women’s 7s team took 5th place at the 2024 HSBC SVNS championship, which took place in Madrid, Spain, from May 31-June 2. The Eagles went 4-1 overall and now rest up before the final Olympics build begins. [lead photo: Mike Lee – KLC fotos for World Rugby]

RELATED: Women’s Rugby Scores: May 31-June 2, 2024

The championship event featured the top-eight teams from the 2023-24 HSBC SVNS series and divided teams into two pools of four. The top-two teams from both pools advances to the Cup bracket, while the bottom-two competed toward the Plate, aka, 5th place.

The Eagles beat Canada 26-19 and then Great Britain 14-12 in the first two rounds of pool play, but a 38-5 loss to New Zealand did damage in the standings. Canada and New Zealand also went 2-1 in the pool, but interestingly, the championship tournament employed bonus points, which is uncommon in 7s. So Canada won the pool due to the bonus point it gleaned from its seven-point loss to the USA, while New Zealand beat out the Eagles for second on point differential. See more.

“We were pretty disappointed, but the unfortunate part about this is while we had instances of matches that were really positive, we weren’t delivering that consistently throughout the game and regaining that when we really needed to,” USA Women’s 7s Team Head Coach Emilie Bydwell said. “For us, today was about how we can control the game over a 14-minute period. This could happen in the Olympics – you can win two pool games and then lose out, so it’s important for us to focus on what we can control, what the process is, and what the next thing is.”

So the USA rerouted to the Plate bracket for another two matches. Sunday started with a 31-0 route of Fiji, then 27-14 win against Ireland for 5th place.

“I’m super proud of how the team responded today,” Bydwell said of the final matches. “Some of these games, they were indecisive, and they were controlling momentum while we were fighting for ways to get it back.”

Ari Ramsey scored six tries on Sunday and led the team with 30 points. Ilona Maher, Alev Kelter and Kristi Kirshe scored two tries apiece, while Kayla Canett, Spiff Sedrick, Steph Rovetti, Alena Olsen and Lauren Doyle also dotted down. Canett (5), Kelter (2), Olsen and Nicole Heavirland added conversions.

The next stop is the Paris Olympics this July. Players will return home and then reconvene in Chula Vista before the Olympic squad is announced.

USA Women’s Sevens Roster | 2024 Madrid SVNS

STAFF

Head Coach | Emilie Bydwell
Assistant Coach | Zack Test
Strength & Conditioning | Trey Ford
Athletic Trainer | Nicole Titmas
Sports Psychologist | Peter Haberl
Team Manager | Liz Strohecker