Despite Penn State's legacy of dominance in Division I, a national 7s championship has eluded the women's team since the competition's creation. That changed on Sunday, when the Nittany Lions defeated Central Washington 47-26 in the 7s title bout, becoming the first women's team to be both DI 15s and 7s national champion in the same year. Penn State has the opportunity to make it three titles in three weeks, as the CRC 7s looms this weekend. Although it's more of a tournament than a championship, repeating as CRC champion would make for a brilliant May.

With the exception of the first half against Stanford and the final minutes of the championship match, Penn State dominated the 7s field last weekend. Behind the expert leadership of Meya Bizer, who scored 25 points (three tries, five conversions) in the final, the Nittany Lions led Central Washington 40-7 with three-quarters of the match gone. The 15s and 7s Eagle shared the scoreboard with Kyla Chipman (2), Tess Feury, and Elizabeth Cairns, while Carly Waters tacked on a conversion. 

To the Wildcats' credit, the DI runner-up used the final moments of the 20-minute match to put eventual MVP Cassidy Meyers into the try zone for her second try of the final, and Asinate Serevi also scored for a more respectable point differential. Along with Ashley Rolsma's try and Meyers' conversions, those 26 points - which is typically enough to win any 7s match - were the most surrendered by Penn State in any one game.

"I think we really pulled together as a team," Chipman told Goff Rugby Report. "You need to rely on your teammates. Every time I got tired, they made sure I never stopped and never gave up. We really push each other."

It will be interesting to see who comprises Penn State's team this weekend. Kate Daley's squad could easily field another 12 players who did not feature in Denver but are just as capable of producing a trophy in Chester, Pa. Corey Meanix, Gabby Cantorna, Hope Rogers, Taylah Pipkin, Lauren Barber, and Annie Lucas are just a selection of players who could drive another devastating 7s team.

The CRC is 12 teams deep and sees three programs - Penn State, Lindenwood, and James Madison - from the national 7s championship in Chester. The addition of American International College, Life, and Arizona will inject some good competition into the tournament, but the odds have to lie with PSU. And should Penn State win this weekend's CRC, the players will have the entire to summer to savor three titles achieved in three weeks.

"We'll finally get a break after two months of non-stop rugby," said Chipman. "We're really excited to get some time off and then come back to pre-season training and do the same thing next year."

CRC Info
Pool A: James Madison, Michigan, Notre Dame Irish, Penn State
Pool B: Arizona, Kutztown, Life, Notre Dame College
Pool C: American International College, Boston, Delaware, Lindenwood

Pool Play Schedule - Friday, May 29, Chester, PA
10:40 a.m. James Madison v Michigan
11:00 a.m. Notre Dame Irish v Penn State
11:20 a.m. Arizona v Kutztown
11:40 a.m. Life v Notre Dame College
12:00 p.m. AIC v Boston
12:20 p.m. Delaware v Lindenwood
12:40 p.m. James Madison v Notre Dame Irish
1:00 p.m. Michigan v Penn State
1:20 p.m. Arizona v Life
1:40 p.m. Kutztown v Notre Dame College
2:00 p.m. Boston v Lindenwood
2:20 p.m. AIC v Delaware
2:40 p.m. James Madison v Penn State
3:00 p.m. Michigan v Notre Dame Irish
3:20 p.m. Arizona v Notre Dame College
3:40 p.m. Kutztown v Life
4:00 p.m. Boston v Delaware
4:20 p.m. AIC v Lindenwood