Scion won the Women's Club 7s National Championship and it's really not sufficient to say just that.

The team that draws players mostly from the Mid-Atlantic and has played excellent 7s for years, as virtually untouchable in chasing the Signes Cup in Tukwila, Wash. After giving up zero points in pool play, Scion eviscerated Tempe 48-7 in the quarterfinals, and dismissed Washington Athletic Club 29-12 in the semis. 

That set the tone for the final, which Scion won 40-0 over Life West. It wasn't even close, really in any game. Scion outscored all opponents 247-19 over six games (that's an average of 41-3). Their passes hit players at pace, something few other teams succeeded in doing. Their tackles were sure, sure enough that no one needed to come out of position to help out. They were very, very quick over the ball. And they could run.

Jessica Lu, Lauren Rhode, Asinate Serevi, Kimber Rozier, and Emily Fullbrook, to name a few, were excellent in how they worked the edges, cut back into space they created, and worked with each other. It was all Scion all weekend.

Life West took second thanks in large part to an astoundingly physical performance over ARPTC in the semis. They just put a stranglehold on the Arkansas-based program and didn't let them get anywhere. Life West wasn't the quickest team, but they were the most powerful, and scored several tries from in close after making teams struggle to get out of their own 22.

Washington Athletic Club found enough space for the very speedy Erica Legaspi to race in for tries all weekend. But they didn't have enough power in the middle, and even a Legaspi try early in the 3rd-4th game wasn't enough as ARPTC worked their defense to force turnovers and score three to win 15-7.

The Plate

Rocky Mountain was one of the joyous surprises of the weekend, playing a hard-nosed type of game where they often found themselves behind, but didn't wilt or cry. Instead they knuckled down, played good defense, and found scoring opportunities in the second half. The result was a 22-7 Plate Semifinal win over Tempe, and a rousing 39-7 defeat of ORSU in the Plate Final.

Belles of the Bowl

After going 0-2 in Pool Play, in close games, and being routed to the Bowl bracket, the Boston Belles poured it on.

Finding opportunistic ways to score and battling at every breakdown, the Belles beat the Chicago Lions in a seeding game on Saturday, and then beat NOVA 27-14 to make the Bowl Final.

There they met the Lions again, and held onto a tenuous 12-5 lead before Chicago scored once more. Held out wide, the Lions couldn't get the conversion and the Belles won the Bowl Final 12-10. Ultimately finishing the weekend 3-2, with a points for-and-against of 91-81, the Belles more than proved they deserved the be there.

Back to Scion

But the weekend belonged to Scion. 

Scion Roster: Lucy Dawson, Donna Dzieman, Emily Fulbrook, Marisa Hall, Bridget Kahele, Jessica Lu, Katie Lutton, Jade McGrath, Dana Meschisi, Lauren Rhode, Kimber Rozier, Asinate Serevi, Charlotte Wallace.

Scion's rugby 7s was excellent. They understood the need to make good passes. They understood the need to fill space with more than one player. They understood how precision in tackling matters and precision in goalkicking can crush an opponent's spirit.

They stood tall in the tackle, stood tall for team player ... about the only place they didn't stand tall was for the National Anthem.