Last Saturday, five DI varsity programs convened in Providence, R.I., for the inaugural Varsity 7s tournament. Norwich was forecasted to win, and it did, but the Cadets did not cruise to the title.

During pool play, Norwich defeated Harvard 42-7 and host Brown 39-0, but Army and Quinnipiac proved more difficult. The Bobcats fell short 21-12, and the West Pointers were very physical in their 22-12 loss.

“It definitely makes the games more exciting,” Norwich freshman – and try-scoring leader – Ilona Maher said of the tougher competition. “Even when we are down at the half, we never give up. Our captain, Emily Oor, always makes sure that we are giving our all to the end. It's a lot of pressure to stay undefeated, but with such great upperclassmen it makes the challenge much less intimidating.”

Case in point: Take the Varsity 7s final. Army got another crack at Norwich and took advantage of the opportunity. With a minute-and-a-half remaining, the West Pointers took the lead on a converted try, 21-17. Norwich freshman Frankie Sands, who came on at flyhalf in the second half, remembered those tense closing moments.

“There was a lot of pressure going into that last play,” Sands recounted Army’s restart after its go-ahead try. “The program has never lost a game, and going into [the final] we were 55-0.”

Norwich returned the kickoff to Army’s 22 meter. Oor picked from the tackle, lined up the defense, and passed to Sands just before contact. The freshman did the rest of the work, cutting through would-be tacklers for the try and win, 22-21.

“Our team works best under those high-pressure situations,” Sands said. “Our coach, Austin Hall, is always telling us to find our peace amongst the chaos. So no matter the situation, we are able to perform at our best, staying calm and just working together to win, ignoring the chaos of everything else that may be going on.”

Freshmen Maher (7), Sands (2), and Denisse Zambon (2) all scored tries, while upperclassmen Emily Colesworthy (6), Vanessa Champagne (3), Riley Blankenship (2), Oor, Sophie Mundell, Val McGuire, and Ally Murphy dotted down as well.

The Varsity 7s served as a USA Rugby national 7s qualifier, but Norwich has not committed to the May 23-24 event. The Cadets are, however, returning to the DI ACRA 7s championship on May 2-3, when it hopes to repeat as champion.