Women's Rugby Hosts Emperor 7s

Saturday, April 8

Princeton, N.J.

10:00 AM

Princeton University

Emperor 7s

Photo by: Shelley M. Szwast

April 08, 2023 | Women's Rugby

PRINCETON, N.J. – The Princeton University women's rugby team hosted its single home event at West Windsor Rugby Field Saturday, which saw West Chester University, Penn State University, and the Naval Academy compete in a tournament of four 7s matches each. Fans from all teams were present to cheer on their side for a full day of rugby.

While the Tigers had a tough day and fell in all of their matches, they had the opportunity to get competition time in for some new players. The women's rugby team's roster is made up entirely of all walk-on student-athletes, with the exception of a few, so the program's focus is not on winning at this point in time, but instead safety and development. The Tigers look forward to growing this team's roster in the future.

The first match of the day against West Chester resulted in a 32-7 loss. A 34-12 loss to Penn State for the Tiger's second match of the day followed, which certainly saw some improvements from the first. Princeton's closest match was against Navy's first side, 20-5, with Navy taking the victory. Navy went on to win the tournament, beating West Chester in the final. The Tigers faced Penn State again in the third-place final, and fell 37-10.

Emperor 7s is a tournament which honors Emil Signes, who was in attendance at the event, who has been attributed to bringing awareness to women in the game of rugby and their opportunities on a competitive stage. His awareness of growing the game of rugby with women, on an international stage, helped create the possibility for Rugby 7s to be considered to be in the Olympics. The day was finished by Emil handing the winner's trophy to the Naval Academy's team captain.

"The event would not have been possible without the help of all Athletics and Campus Rec staff," said Head Coach Josie Ziluca. "Princeton's temporary rugby facility has its own challenges and we the community came together to host a great event for all. Thank you to all who came out, including Ford Family Director of Athletics John Mack, for a day filled with electric rugby!"

The Tigers will have their next competition on Saturday, April 22, at the Ivy 7s tournament on the campus of Darmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, in an event streamed on ESPN2. The Tigers look forward to your support both at the event and from afar. Go Tigers!