The NCR All-Americans wrapped up their time at Algarve 7s on Sunday, June 7, ending with a 5-1 record and plenty of highlight-reel worthy moments en route to a third place finish overall. Their only loss on the weekend came during a nail-biter of a semifinal match, during which the top collegiate women’s 7s players in the country showed true grit.
The team looked just as dominant during the first game of day two as they did on day one, knocking Petelo out in the quarterfinals with a 37-5 victory. Notre Dame’s Mia Blocher scored a hattrick in this match, cementing her position as the team’s top scorer for a second year in a row. Adding these three tries to the six she scored on day one gave her a total of nine tries through four games.
Team captain Laryssa Barbosa, out of Brown University, scored her first try of the tournament in this match after racking up plenty of try assists in pool play. Drury’s Lauren Thomlinson and RPI’s Leanna Wells each scored their second tries of the tournament.
The first real test of the weekend for the collegiate All-Americans came in the semifinal round against UMUSA Monaco – the first place finisher in Pool D and the eventual tournament champs.
NCR had to play from behind for the first time on the weekend after surrendering a try early in the match following an errant lineout throw within 10 meters of their own line. The team was also struggling to find any holes in their opponents relentless defense, with Monaco doing an excellent job at limiting long, breakaway scores. Even when Blocher or any of NCR’s other dangerous athletes managed a line break, their opponents continued to chase them down.
Eventually, some crisp passing did put Blocher into enough space out on the wing for her to get free and score. With that, and Kelly Greenleaf’s clutch conversion, NCR hoped to head into the sheds at halftime in the driver’s seat. But Monaco was able to rally and score a converted try right at the whistle to steal back the momentum and the lead.
Monaco threatened again right away at the start of the second half, smelling blood in the water and looking to potentially put the game out of reach. But NCR responded well to the adversity. After absorbing that first-half gut punch, the squad continually repelled Monaco’s offensive probes and eventually earned a penalty at the breakdown. After a quick tap, Ohio State’s Ada Erhart took a huge hit but managed to leave a perfect ball up for Blocher, who did what she does best and put the All-Americans back on top.
The team looked like they were going to be able to close out the hard-fought victory after another huge defensive stand in their own end. After an exhausting sequence during which Monaco threw everything they had at the beleaguered Americans, NCR was able to induce a knock-on and regain possession as the seconds continued to tick away on the clock.
Unfortunately, an errant pass after NCR won the scrum left the ball unprotected on the deck, and Monaco was able to scoop it up and plunge in for what would end up being the decisive score. NCR was unable to secure the ensuing kickoff and Monaco drained the clock before kicking the ball out of bounds to wrap up the victory, 14-17.
The All-Americans were not deterred, however, rallying to beat Gorilla Rugby 12-10 in the third-place playoff hours later. Blocher scored, giving her twelve total tries on the weekend, as did Brown University’s Olivia Baptiste and Greenleaf’s conversion kick made the difference. The win gave the program its second top-three finish at Algarve 7s in two years.
NCR’s High Performance Program has three more events scheduled for this summer. The women will hold an All-American intrasquad scrimmage in July. The Men’s All-Americans 7s team returns to Rugbytown 7s in Glendale, Colorado from August 16-23, following a successful run after a late invitation to the tournament in 2025. On the XVs side, the Men’s All-Americans will travel to Boston from August 15-22 for a marquee fixture against Cork Constitution Football Club, one of Ireland's most storied rugby institutions. Led by Ed Tubridy, the tour provides a unique opportunity for athletes to test themselves against high-level international club competition.
