The Summit High School varsity girls rugby team took third place at Saturday’s elite Pink 7s Tournament in Utah.

Playing through sloppy, wet weather in Salt Lake City, the Tigers defeated Mountain View of Idaho 24-0 and Provo of Utah 31-0 on Friday, Oct. 8.

Tigers head coach Karl Barth said Summit settled in well as the day wore on. In the first game, Barth said it took Summit some time to adjust their game in the open field in the inclement conditions.

In the second game, the coach said he was proud of how Summit defended against a very physical Provo side. He said that was especially the case at the end of the first half, when Summit defended near the Tigers’ own end line for the final six minutes without relenting a try.

Summit began Saturday’s action with their final pool play game, a tight 14-12 win over Majestics of Salt Lake City.

“That was an arm wrestle,” Barth said. “They are an impressive, impressive team. In the past we played them and they are incredibly, incredibly physical. But they definitely have a lot more speed on the outside.”

The coach said though Majestics did a good job in the pool play game of preventing Summit from playing wide, the Tigers powered through the opposition’s physicality to receive scores from juniors Joselin Roque and Paola Arredondo. Senior Isabella Comai’s two kick conversions were the difference in the 2-point win, as Majestics missed their conversion kick on the final play of the game that would have tied it up.

Though Summit entered the 8-team, 3-round tournament play undefeated, they knew they were in for a tough road as all four of the teams in their pool advanced to the knockout round.

In Summit’s playoff opener, the Tigers looked strong in their 33-0 victory over Wasatch.

Summit then fell in the rematch to Majestics, by a final score of 14-10. The loss was a tough one to swallow, as Summit held a 10-7 lead late into the game before Majestics punched it in on Summit’s try line for the game-winning try in the match’s final moments.

“We were just trying to force it too much,” Barth said. “You can tell they were trying to open the game up and put it away with, one or two times, forcing a pass here and there. It gave them chance to get back in the game.

In the loss, Summit also lost Comai, who went down with a knee injury. Comai’s injury came just a moment before Arredondo was forced out of the game with a bloody nose.

While Summit’s state-border rival United — a team Summit topped a month ago — ended up defeating Majestics in the final, Summit won the third-place game 35-0 over Provo. Barth said the Tigers finished the weekend with better discipline and communication.

The coach highlighted the defensive play of Citlali Licea and added that Tigers senior leader Jenna Sheldon “brought a lot of edge” as the team’s top scorer along with Roque. He added Arredondo’s sweeping was “outrageous,” while Snyder and Darst did “a little bit of everything” all across the pitch.

Summit will next play Saturday, Oct. 16 versus Palmer at Garry Berry Stadium in Colorado Springs.