WEST CHESTER, Pa. – The Navy women's rugby team (7-1 in 7s) captured its first 7s tournament title of the season, posting a 4-0 record to dominate the West Chester 7s in West Chester, Pa., on Sunday in an all-around team effort.
 
Mia Young led all scorers over the four-match stretch with a team-best 38 points, tallying two tries (10 points) and 14 conversion kicks (28 points). Arica Spencer finished as the top try scorer with five tries for 25 points, while Catherine O'Hara and Cecilia Izquierdo added four tries apiece (20 points each).
 
In total, Navy produced 27 tries (135 points) and 16 conversion kicks (32 points) for 167 points, with 11 different try scorers and two conversion kickers highlighting a balanced and productive attack.
 
"I'm very proud of this group today," said Navy assistant coach Abby Gustaitis. "We took learnings from last week, made some key adjustments in training and the players executed them brilliantly. The team showed up from the start of each match and kept improving throughout the tournament. The defensive growth from last week was outstanding, conceding just two tries all day. That speaks to their commitment, communication and work rate."
 
"Putting 167 points on the opposition is a reflection of the effort and belief across the whole squad. We're continuing to build, and I ask the players to continue to raise the standard for Navy women's rugby."
 
Match Recaps
Navy 36, Mount St. Mary's 7
Navy jumped out to a fast start as Catherine O'Hara scored in the opening minute for her fourth try of the spring.
 
Mount St. Mary's responded in the fourth minute to take its only lead of the game at 7-5.
 
From there, it was all Midshipmen. Aleksandria Gabbard scored her first try of the season to regain the lead at 10-7 and Mia Young added the conversion to make it 12-7.
 
Cecilia Izquierdo added another try at the halftime buzzer to give Navy a 17-7 lead at the break.
 
Navy pulled away in the second half with three more tries from Rose Rode, O'Hara and Megan Leitz.
 
Navy 50, La Salle 0
O'Hara opened the scoring with her third try of the day in the second minute, followed by a Young conversion for a 7-0 lead.
 
Navy added three more first-half tries from Gabbard (4:31), Leitz (5:51) and Izquierdo (7:00), while Young converted twice more to give the Midshipmen a 26-0 halftime lead.
 
Leitz opened the second half with her second try of the match to extend the lead to 31-0. Ellie Pierson added a try, and Spencer scored her first two tries of the season to close out the shutout.
 
Navy 40, West Chester 7
Navy controlled the first half behind Young, who scored 18 of the team's 28 points with two tries and four conversions. Gabbard and O'Hara each added a try in the opening half.
 
Spencer extended the lead with a try in the eighth minute, followed by another Young conversion to make it 35-0.
 
After West Chester scored its lone try — just the second Navy allowed on the day — Spencer capped the game with a try at the buzzer.
 
Navy 41, Penn State 0
The Midshipmen capped the tournament with their second shutout of the day.
 
Izquierdo scored both first-half tries to give Navy a 10-0 lead at the break.
 
Navy's offense surged in the second half, sparked by team captain Ella Callahan, who scored two tries. Spencer, Alexis Rohrbach and Kyndall Wyngaard each added a try. Hannah Brink converted two kicks for her first four points of the afternoon.
 
Box Scores
Game 1: Navy vs. Mount St. Mary's (W, 36-7)
0:48 – Try – Navy – Catherine O'Hara (5-0)
 
3:32 – Try – Mount St. Mary's (5-5)
Conversion kick (5-7)
 
4:51 – Try – Navy – Aleksandria Gabbard (10-7)
Conversion kick – Mia Young (12-7)
 
7:00 – Try – Navy – Cecilia Izquierdo (17-7)
 
7:17 – Try – Navy – Rose Rode (22-7)
Conversion kick – Mia Young (24-7)
 
9:34 – Try – Navy – Catherine O'Hara (29-7)
Conversion kick – Mia Young (31-7)
 
11:28 – Try – Navy – Megan Leitz (36-7)
 
Game 2: Navy vs. La Salle (W, 50-0)
1:33 – Try – Navy – Catherine O'Hara (5-0)
Conversion kick – Mia Young (7-0)
 
4:31 – Try – Navy – Aleksandria Gabbard (12-0)
Conversion kick – Mia Young (14-0)
 
5:51 – Try – Navy – Megan Leitz (19-0)
Conversion kick – Mia Young (21-0)
 
7:00 – Try – Navy – Cecilia Izquierdo (26-0)
 
8:00 – Try – Navy – Megan Leitz (31-0)
Conversion kick – Mia Young (33-0)
 
9:40 – Try – Navy – Arica Spencer (38-0)
 
12:11 – Try – Navy – Ellie Pierson (43-0)
Conversion kick – Mia Young (45-0)
 
13:33 – Try – Navy – Arica Spencer (50-0)
 
Game 3: Navy vs. West Chester (W, 40-7)
1:15 – Try – Navy – Mia Young (5-0)
Conversion kick – Mia Young (7-0)
 
2:50 – Try – Navy – Aleksandria Gabbard (12-0)
Conversion kick – Mia Young (14-0)
 
4:55 – Try – Navy – Mia Young (19-0)
Conversion kick – Mia Young (21-0)
 
7:00 – Try – Navy Catherine O'Hara (26-0)
Conversion kick – Mia Young (28-0)
 
8:00 – Try – Navy – Arica Spencer (33-0)
Conversion kick – Mia Young (35-0)
 
12:37 – Try – West Chester (35-5)
Conversion kick (35-7)
 
14:09 – Try – Navy – Arica Spencer (40-7)
 
Game 4: Navy vs. Penn State (W, 41-0)
1:46 – Try – Navy – Cecilia Izquierdo (5-0)
 
4:18 – Try – Navy – Cecilia Izquierdo (10-0)
 
7:21 – Try – Navy – Ella Callahan (15-0)
Conversion kick – Mia Young (17-0)
 
9:06 – Try – Navy – Arica Spencer (22-0)
Conversion kick – Hannah Brink (24-0)
 
10:42 – Try – Navy – Ella Callahan (29-0)
Conversion kick – Hannah Brink (31-0)
 
12:31 – Try – Navy – Alexis Rohrbach (36-0)
 
14:20 – Try – Navy – Kyndall Wyngaard (41-0)