High Performance captures Lady Triton Rugby Sevens title

Olivia Elliott of the High Performance women’s rugby club steps out of reach of an oncoming Para Todu defender while teammate Kayla Taguacta-Chiong positions herself for backup. High Performance won the inaugural Lady Triton Women’s Rugby Sevens Tournament on Saturday, with both Elliott and Taguacta-Chiong named to the All-Tournament Team. (Triton Athletics)

The High Performance women’s rugby club captured the very first Lady Triton Women’s Rugby Sevens Tournament championship with a 36-0 victory over the Para Todu club on Saturday at the University of Guam Rugby Field. The university’s Triton Athletics Department hosted the two-weekend tournament in conjunction with the debut of its first-ever women’s rugby team.

“This tournament brought a lot of excitement to the rugby community,” said UOG Athletics Director Doug Palmer. “We can hopefully hold two more this spring.”

The championship match was hard-fought by both teams, but the High Performance defense proved too much for Para Todu and the match on the scoreboard was a one-sided affair.

High Performance, whose team consists of multiple Guam national team players, went 5-0 during the tournament, allowing only one score.

In the semifinals, High Performance beat the shorthanded UOG Tritons team 31-0. The Tritons, down to six players after a team member suffered a concussion last week, managed better defense than their 42-0 loss to High Performance in last week’s qualifying match.

In the second semifinal game, the Para Todu club beat the Hybrids 17-5 in a match that heated up in the final two minutes as the Hybrids turned up the pressure on Para Todu.

Vina Terlaje of team High Performance was named Most Valuable Player of the inaugural Lady Triton Women’s Rugby Sevens Tournament. (Triton Athletics)

With the Tritons vs. Hybrid third-place match cancelled following a Triton injury in the semifinals, team Hybrid, with a tournament record of 2-3, was declared the winner and third-place finisher.

Para Todu finished second place with a record of 3-2, and the UOG Tritons finished fourth place with a record of 0-5.

“This was a great start for the UOG Lady Tritons,” Palmer said about the university’s newest sport and the team’s first tournament. “We didn’t win any matches, but we learned a lot about the game and what we need to do to have a successful program on the island.”

Vina Terlaje of High Performance was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament, with the following players named the All-Tournament Team:

• High Performance’s Olivia Elliott

• Para Todu’s Katie Mueller

• Hybrids’ Taylor Crisostomo

• UOG Tritons’ Katrina Penaflor

• High Performance’s Mariana Crisostomo

• Para Todu’s Makenna Greenlee

• Hybrids’ T’anna Dela Cruz

• High Performance’s Tori Starr

• Para Todu’s Aveah Garrido

• High Performance’s Kayla Taguacta-Chiong. (PR)