One week ago today, Virginia Women’s Rugby (UVA) was recovering from the quarterfinal loss that eliminated it from the DI spring final four. But the end of one season meant the frenetic beginning of another, as UVA had less than a week to ready for the NOVA 7s national qualifier.

“It was definitely a tough transition from 15s to 7s,” UVA captain Bri Kim confirmed. “First, we didn't have a break from Sweet 16s/Elite 8s, so last week's training was tough since we were all pretty physically and mentally worn from the weekend before. Second, obviously the mindsets for 15s and 7s are completely different, so switching within a week took a lot of focus from our team, but we were able to rise to the challenge.”

And then some. UVA went 4-0-1, beating James Madison (twice), Maryland, and Old Dominion, and tying North Carolina 19-19. The final occurred against JMU (which had defeated UNC 22-10 during pool play and therefore took the final’s berth over the Tar Heels) and went 31-7 in UVA’s favor.

“Overall, we had a great day, finishing the short tournament without a loss,” Kim said. “Our success would not have been possible without our coach, Dana Creager, who is renowned in the 7s world, and who was able to create a game plan that we kept working on all day.”

The team buoyed that game plan with iron-clad focus and a tenacity that marks UVA’s play in both 7s and 15s.

“Playing five games in five hours is both physically and mentally fatiguing, but we were able to debrief after each game, discuss what we were able to do well and not do well, and set goals for the next game,” Kim explained. “I saw so much improvement from the first game to the last, and I am so excited to uncover more of this team's potential after seeing what we can do in just a day.”

No one player carried the team, but Kim did point out Summer Harris-Jones and Joy Jefferson for stepping up with some important tries.

“It was truly the efforts of all 12 of our players both offensively and defensively that defined our wins,” Kim concluded. “Every single player stepped up and stuck to the game plan we were trying to execute, and improved throughout the day.”

UVA has now qualified for the national 7s championship, to occur May 23-24 in Denver. Princeton and Penn State qualified as well, winning the Ivy League and Big Ten qualifiers, respectively.