TRI-CITIES HOSTS OCAA WOMEN'S RUGBY SEVENS CHAMPIONSHIP

CAMBRIDGE, Ont. - The Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Women's Rugby Sevens Championship will take place on Saturday at the Fountain Street Soccer Complex in Cambridge, Ont.

All eight teams will take the pitch in the hunt for this year's title as the championship introduces an expanded format. The three-time defending champion Durham Lords remain the squad to beat, having secured the No. 1 seed following an undefeated regular season.

The championship host Conestoga Condors are the No. 2 seed and are positioned well to make a run at the medals. Also competing for hardware are the Algonquin Wolves, Fleming Phoenix, Humber Hawks, Loyalist Lancers, St. Lawrence Surge and Seneca Sting.

The quarter-final match-ups are based on seeding reflecting the final regular season standings (1 vs. 8, 2 vs. 7, etc.). Winners of the opening matches will advance to the semifinals, while losing teams will compete in a consolation round. Winners of the semifinals compete in the gold medal match, while losing teams play for the bronze medal. Eleven matches in total will take place on Saturday.

All games will be streamed on OCAA LIVE.

Fleming Phoenix, Peterborough (1-13, 8th OCAA) vs. Durham Lords, Oshawa (14-0, 1st OCAA)
Saturday, Oct. 25 - 9 a.m.

Is the dynasty destined to continue? That is the burning question as the Durham Lords compete for an unprecedented fourth straight OCAA crown.

Durham has not lost an OCAA match since Sept. 21, 2024, winning 25 straight matches in regular and post-season play. During the 2025 regular season, the Lords scored an OCAA-high 594 points, while allowing a league-fewest 19 against. With all the other teams allowing more than 150 total points to opponents, the remainder have a tough task ahead of them this weekend.

The Lords feature OCAA Player of the Year Amber Edgerton (Uxbridge). The second-year back led all OCAA players with 24 tries, and finished third in scoring during the regular season, adding three converts for 126 points.

The Fleming Phoenix have lost a league-high seven straight heading into the championship. The Phoenix feature OCAA League All-Star Ashley Smith (Ravenna). The second-year wing was the team co-leader with two tries in 14 matches. Fleming won back-to-back OCAA medals in 2021 and 2022, bronze and silver, respectively.

Durham won the season series between these two, winning both matches 48-0.

Seneca Sting, Toronto (6-8, 5th OCAA) vs. Loyalist Lancers, Belleville (8-6, 4th OCAA)
Saturday, Oct. 25 - 9:30 a.m.

The Loyalist Lancers won two straight matches to finish in the top half of the OCAA standings. Loyalist outscored its opponents 226-196.

OCAA League All-Star Faith Ayres (Belleville) is the Loyalist team leader with 101 points on 13 tries and 18 converts. The Lancers are two-time OCAA bronze medalists in 2017 and 2023.

The Seneca Sting have lost two of three to conclude their regular season with a sub-.500 record. OCAA League All-Star Angelina Jahshan (Newmarket) scored a team-high 51 points for the Sting on nine tries and three converts. Seneca has not reached the OCAA podium since 2019, winning it all in 2017.

Both the Lancers and Sting are 5-5 in their last 10 matches. Loyalist won both regular season matches between these clubs by identical 19-5 scores.

Algonquin Wolves, Ottawa (3-10-1, 6th OCAA) vs. Humber Hawks, Toronto (11-3, 3rd OCAA)
Saturday, Oct. 25 - 10 a.m.

Suffering just three regular season losses, the Humber Hawks are considered one of the medal favourites this Saturday. The Hawks have outscored their opponents 327-151.

OCAA League All-Star Meghan Aucoin (Port Perry) led the Hawks on offence scoring 14 tries and 18 converts for 106 points. Aucoin's offensive exploits didn't hold the third-year wing back from earning OCAA Defensive Player of the Year honours.

The Algonquin Wolves have lost 10 times during the regular season. OCAA League All-Star Faiza Faucher-Ahmed (Ottawa) led the Wolves with six tries in 14 matches.

Both programs are former OCAA champions, with Humber the reigning bronze medalists. Algonquin's last medal was bronze in 2022. The Hawks won the regular season series between these teams 20-5 and 36-0.

St. Lawrence Surge, Kingston (1-12-1, 7th OCAA) vs. Conestoga Condors, Kitchener (11-3, 2nd OCAA)
Saturday, Oct. 25 - 10:30 a.m.

The Conestoga Condors have home turf advantage in this competition, looking to win their first OCAA medal since earning silver in 2016.

The Condors are one of three teams with double-digit victories. They feature OCAA Scoring Champion and OCAA League All-Star Abbey Anderson (Waterford). The fifth-year player scored 17 tries while hitting on 32 converts for 149 points.

The St. Lawrence Surge were limited to just one victory during the regular season, and will have their work cut out for them in Cambridge.

OCAA League All-Star Mia Gadiano (Ottawa) of the Surge is one of the league's strongest tacklers. St. Lawrence has won back-to-back OCAA silver medals.

Live Webcast: www.ocaa.com/live

Saturday, October 25
Quarter-Final #1: Fleming (8th) vs. Durham (1st) - 9 a.m.
Quarter-Final #2: Seneca (5th) vs. Loyalist (4th) - 9:30 a.m.
Quarter-Final #3: Algonquin (6th) vs. Humber (3rd) - 10 a.m.
Quarter-Final #4: St. Lawrence (7th) vs. Conestoga (2nd) - 10:30 a.m.
Consolation Semi-Final #1: Loser Quarter-Final #1 vs Loser Quarter-Final #2 - 11:15 a.m.
Consolation Semi-Final #2: Loser Quarter-Final #3 vs Loser Quarter-Final #4 - 12:15 p.m.
Semi-Final #1: Winner Quarter-Final #1 vs Winner Quarter-Final #2 - 12:45 p.m.
Semi-Final #2: Winner Quarter-Final #3 vs Winner Quarter-Final #4 - 1:15 p.m.

OCAA Consolation Game
Winner Consolation Semi-Final #1 vs Winner Consolation Semi-Final #2 - 1:45 p.m.

OCAA Bronze Medal Game
Loser Semi-Final #1 vs Loser Semi-Final #2 - 2:45 p.m.
Winning team presented OCAA Bronze Medal at conclusion of match

OCAA Gold Medal Game
Winner Semi-Final #1 vs Winner Semi-Final #2 - 3:30 p.m.
OCAA Gold and Silver Medals presented at conclusion of match

- OCAA -

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Marketing and Communications
Ontario Colleges Athletic Association
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E-mail: bell-webster@ocaa.com