BELLEVILLE, Ont. - The Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Women's Rugby Sevens Championship will take place on Saturday at Loyalist College in Belleville, Ont.
Six teams will take the pitch in the hunt for this year's title, including the Algonquin Wolves, Durham Lords, Fleming Knights, host Loyalist Lancers, St. Lawrence Surge and Seneca Sting. The field is based on the top six teams in the regular season standings, including host Loyalist.
The top two teams (regular season champion Durham and Fleming) earned byes into the semifinals, while the remaining four teams compete to join them. The opening two matches will determine the other two semifinalists.
Winners of the semifinals compete in the gold medal match, while losing teams play for the bronze medal. Losing teams in the opening two matches play in a consolation final.
Durham Lords (18-0, 1st OCAA)
The Durham Lords are competing for a shot at OCAA history on Saturday as they look to become the first team to complete a perfect season, having won all 18 regular season matches.
The Lords have been nothing short of dominant this season outscoring their opponents 578-22, setting a new OCAA record for most points scored in a regular season.
First-year back Emily Cooper (Guelph) led all OCAA players with 34 tries, setting a new OCAA single season record.
Durham has advanced to the OCAA gold medal match the last two championships, losing both times.
Fleming Knights (12-6, 2nd OCAA)
Reigning bronze medalist Fleming is looking to move up the podium this year, and hoping they have some upset potential to claim gold.
The Knights enter the championship having won seven of their past 10 matches.
Opponents will need to contain first-year fly half Abby Todd (Otonabee) who scored 17 tries in the regular season to lead all Fleming players.
Algonquin Wolves (11-6-1, 3rd OCAA)
After a two-year hiatus as a result of the pandemic, the Algonquin Wolves returned to OCAA play and performed admirably.
Winning the OCAA championship in 2019, the Wolves were unable to defend their title, but have an opportunity to reclaim the throne in 2022.
Second-year back Sydney Seymour (Cornwall) was third in OCAA scoring during the regular season scoring 110 points on a dozen tries and 25 converts.
Although they finished behind Fleming in the standings, the Wolves were 2-1 against the Knights during the regular season.
Seneca Sting (10-8, 4th OCAA)
Along with Algonquin, the Seneca Sting went 6-4 in their last 10 regular season matches as they look to return to the OCAA podium after failing to do so last season.
Seneca won the OCAA championship in 2017, and followed this with back-to-back bronze medals.
First-year prop Olivia Hooper (Barrie) led Seneca in offence this past season, averaging a try per match.
St. Lawrence Surge (5-12-1, 5th OCAA)
The St. Lawrence Surge will look to take on the role of Cinderella when they open the competition against Seneca. St. Lawrence does have a win over the Sting during the regular season.
Second-year back Ella Van Hal (Kingston) led St. Lawrence in scoring during the regular season with 13 tries.
Loyalist Lancers (2-16, 7th OCAA)
Similar to St. Lawrence, the host Loyalist Lancers look to play spoiler when they open against Algonquin. Loyalist got swept by the Wolves in the three-game regular season series.
Second-year back Elayna Reid (Foxboro) led all Loyalist players with 11 tries during the regular season.
Photo Credit: Diego Guillen
Championship Website: www.ocaa.com/wrug7
Live Webcast: www.ocaa.com/ocaalive
Saturday, October 29
Game #1: St. Lawrence vs. Seneca - 10 a.m.
Game #2: Loyalist vs. Algonquin - 10:30 a.m.
Game #3: Winner Game #1 vs. Durham - 11:30 a.m.
Game #4: Winner Game #2 vs. Fleming - 12 p.m.
Consolation Final
Game #5: Loser Game #1 vs. Loser Game #2 - 12:30 p.m.
Bronze Medal Match
Game #6: Loser Game #3 vs. Loser Game #4 - 1:30 p.m.
Winning team presented OCAA Bronze Medal at conclusion of match
Gold Medal Match
Game #7: Winner Game #3 vs. Winner Game #4 - 2:15 p.m.
OCAA Gold and Silver Medals presented at conclusion of match
- OCAA -
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For additional information please contact:
Josh Bell-Webster
Marketing and Communications
Ontario Colleges Athletic Association
Tel: 416-426-7041
E-mail: bell-webster@ocaa.com
