Twenty-four teams played in the NAI 7s Girls U18 bracket, and that single bracket produced two champions.
There wasn't really a U18 Elite bracket, but there were teams that declared themselves wanting to play in an elite division.
So everyone was put in the same bracket, but split n the knockout rounds.
Elite Playoff
The Rugby Advantage went undefeated, beating a tough Utah Cannibals team in the final 21-17.
TRA's road went as follows:
34-0 over Bitterroot Koa
5-0 over Rocky Mountain
41-7 over Sacramento Harlequins
15-5 over Atlantis
21-17 over Utah Cannibals
Only Utah managed to score more than one try against them.
Meanwhile, the rest of the bracket moved on to the U18 final.
Powerful, unified, and explosive, Sac PAL Amazons and Majestics emerged as teams to worry about.
Rhinos shut out Pioneer 7s in the quarterfinals and looked quite polished in so doing. Majestics played fellow Utah team Provo/Wasatch and defended well and took their chances in a 24-5 win.
The Sacramento Harlequins were impressive against Eagle out Idaho. The Harlequins had a short time to come together as a unit and managed it well. Smart and analytical they scored a key try out wide to win 14-7.
And the Amazons hammered a very tough Pesefika side 31-7.
Semis
So that set up the semifinals. Majestics hits hard and needed to in a tight battle with Rhinos. With their ability to score against the run of play Majestics edged Rhinos 17-14.
The Amazons, meanwhile, were astonishing in their dominance. Playing a solid Harlequins side, the Sac PAL Amazons found another gear. They have powerful forwards and some fast break ability from scrumhalf on out, and they showed all of that in the semi, winning 38-0.
The Final
So that set up the final, a matchup of two teams that met in the final of the national 15s HS Club championship. That final was very close, with the Amazons just getting past it to win the national title.
"We kind of know what's coming but since it's 7s season we'll just see what happens," said Krystal Tupou of Majestics.
Well, what happened first off was Majestics put the Amazons under pressure and spun the ball smoothly through the hands to score out wide.
Undaunted, Sac PAL broke down the sideline and looked like they had answered right off the restart. Majestics caught them just before the line but were penalized. Tap from Amazons and they were over under the posts. That was important as Sac PAL now led 7-5.
