Life University Athletics

The field featured a high level of competition, with an Olympic development academy in attendance that had a number of capped Eagles on the roster. The tournamanet was a round robin format with a mix of collegiate, All-star, academy, and top clubs in the country. 
 

The teams in attendance included:
 

Scion - 7s Olympic Development Academy team, 2018 National Runners-Up at USA Rugby club nationals, 2017 semifinalists, and 2016 national champions. Their roster included three capped Eagles (Dana Meschisi, Kiki Morgan, and Nikki Snyder) and three more in the pipeline (Nate Serevi who just played with the US against the Barbarians, Emily Fullbrook, and Jade McGrath). 
 

Atlanta Harlequins - Present at club 7s nationals 5x in the past eight years with a top four finish in 2012, quarterfinals in 2013. Life U alumns that were on the roster - Kaitlyn Broughton, Kim Semiglia, Gracie Martinez, Gabi Bergamin, Kimberly Semiglia, Madison Ohmann, and top WPL players for the Atlanta Harlequins (Cyndi Campbell, Mo Compito, Marcel Nelson, LaKeta Sutton)
 

South Seniors and U-23s - Coached by Chris Martin, has a number of promising top collegiate and club players throughout the Southeast. 
 

Penn State - 2015 7s national champions, 2018 USA Rugby College 7s and CRC Runners-up.

When asked about the competition the tournament brought, head coach Rosalind Chou detailed, "Having All-Star teams and Olympic Development Academy teams like Scion down here give us the best competition we could ask for, with top players in the game pushing us. To see Scion, and players like Kiki Morgan play every minute of every game and still make cover tackles and turnovers gives our student-athletes role models and they aspire to have that kind of work output. It's such a great learning experience for our Life U women."
 

The final standings for the tournament were as followed:
1st place: Scion 7s Academy (6-0)

2nd place: Life U Elite side (5-1)

3rd place: Atlanta Harlequins (3-2-1)

4th place: Penn State (2-2-2)

5th place: South Seniors (2-4)

6th place: Life Developmental side (1-4-1)

7th place: South U-23s (0-6)
 

Chou praised the experience of a weekend format stating, "After Tropical 7s, there were a number of areas we knew we wanted to focus on and improve. It's a new group with our graduating seniors last year, more than half of our 7s squad this year is new. Getting in six games over 2 days mimics the format of nationals, so this was invaluable and we got to see all of our student-athletes get minutes against top competition and get closer to finalizing the roster for college 7s and the CRC."
 

When asked about the teams performance, Chou mentioned, "Lekia Haynes is playing her best rugby right now, she's impressing on both sides of the ball. A number of younger players are stepping up and showing they want to compete for a spot on the roster, Susan Adegoke continues to be impressive with her footwork and her ability to find the try zone. Haley Langan, while new to us, shows her experience as a former Youth Olympic Games 7s player with her excellent defense. Maria Marin Garcia is stepping in as a leader of this 7s squad."

The women's rugby team will return to action on Saturday, May 11, as they travel to University Park, PA to compete in the Penn State 7s tournament. Photos from the tournament can be found here: Third Annual Life U 7s Tournament Photo Gallery