Tigress Class of Tropical 7s Girls

The Charlotte Tigress had only the one hiccup in a run that saw them win the Girls U18 bracket at the Tropical 7s.

In a massive Girls bracket that included 13 teams, the Tigress had six pool games to play (one more than the other pool) to book a place in the final. Among the favorites, they were almost unseated early on as they tied Gorilla Rugby 24-24 in the opener. With four freshmen on the team it was perhaps not unexpected that they didn't all know quite what the level would be.

But they slowly began to improve, edging Panther 7s Red 19-12 to move to 1-0-1, and then it started to click. They shook off the jitters and cut down the penalties and stopped giving up points.

Throughout the rest of pool play the Tigress didn't allow a point, shutting out Maui 15-0, Alaska 39-0, Rogue Ridge 45-0, and Fallbrook 30-0. It was a stunning display. That was good enough to win Pool A, as Gorilla fell to Maui, leaving Gorilla at 4-1-1, Maui at 5-1, and Charlotte at 5-0-1. 

Led by Lennox London and EC Cantrell, this group started to come together. While all but one normally play for Charlotte in league play (Reese Vorster plays for Wando normally but Wando didn't go to Tropical) you'd expect them to operate as a team, but the Tigress hadn't played at Tropical or NAI 7s as a unit; instead the players had participated in those events in various academies. 

This year, the Charlotte program decided to bring their players back into the fold, and added freshmen Katelyn England, Gabby Alegria, Carolina Cook, and Jemmily Rivas to augment the roster.

And it worked. They were exciting and skilled and their defense, after the hiccup of the opening game, was stellar.

In the final of the Tropilca 7s the Tigress met the Utah Cannibals, who were a perfect 6-0 on the weekend. The Cannibals had beaten the Celtic Barbarians 50-0, ARPTC 29-0, Badger Selects 31-5, Panther 7s Blue 22-12, and Riverdale 51-0. They gave up three tries going into the final, and three tries in the final as the Tigress edged the Cannibals in a thriller 17-14.

Maui, so close to winning their pool, took 3rd.

It was an impressive showing for a singular club, given that most of the field of teams at Tropical were select or regional sides. And it was even more notable given their shaky start, and how they turned that around; they gave up six tries in their first two games, and only two after in their final five games.