Abbotsford’s Atlantis women’s elite rugby team dominated on home turf at the 2016 Abbotsford VIP Mazda Sevens tournament at Exhibition Park on Saturday.
Atlantis lost just one game, en route to a women’s elite division cup final win. The team opened with a 36-10 win over the UBC Thunderbirds, and then blanked the Meralomas 54-0.
The team suffered its lone defeat at the event, falling 27-19 to SFU, but then bounced back with a 58-5 win over Burnaby to finish second overall in the division and get another shot at SFU in the final.
Atlantis then conquered SFU 33-14 in the final to win the cup. Meg Wellis from Atlantis was named the most valuable player in the women’s elite division.
The Abbotsford elite men’s team also advanced to the final, but fell 19-12 to Seattle. Abbotsford kicked off the tournament with a 28-19 win over Meralomas, but then lost 33-14 to the Canadian Fijians. They then defeated Seattle 19-14 and beat Burnaby 26-19 to qualify for the final.
The most valuable player of the men’s elite tournament was Seattle’s Sequoyah Burke-Combs.
SFU won the men’s social division, posting a 24-19 win over the Meralomas in the cup final. The Heavy Setters defeated United 22-12 in the division’s plate final match. SFU’s Sean Longmire was named the men’s social most valuable player.
Ridge Meadows won the women’s social division title, compiling a perfect record of three wins and no losses. Faith Fitzpatrick from Ridge Meadows earned the division’s most valuable player honours.
The drop kick contest winners were Solomon Puckey from Finnegan’s for the men and Tanya Bennet from Meralomas for the women.
Saturday’s event was the first of three official stops on the BC Rugby Summer Sevens Circuit, where club teams compete for points. For more information on the event, visit abbotsfordrugby.com.