For the third time in school history, the Summit High School girls rugby team traveled to Cleveland, Ohio to compete at the 22nd Annual High School Girls Rugby National Tournament from Friday, May 20, through Sunday, May 22.

The widely successful team, coached by Summit High School’s Karl Barth, took to the pitch at Notre Dame College in South Euclid, Ohio in order to challenge some of the best girls rugby teams from across the nation.

In previous appearances, Summit has fared well. The team placed second in 2016 and third in 2019.

Coming off Summit’s 14th consecutive state title last fall, the Tigers took the field eager to bolster their championship-caliper resume.

In its first match of the tournament, Summit faced off against Hamilton. During that match, the Tigers had no trouble getting up to speed. They ended up shutting out Hamilton, 20-0.

Senior Olyvia Snyder and Ashley Misch recorded tries, and Paola Arredondo recorded two tries in the Tigers win.

With help from Lily Airy and Larissa Mero, the team advanced to the semi-final match in the afternoon hours of Saturday, May 21. In that match, Summit continued to roll. The team had its second shutout of the weekend, this time defeating Catholic Memorial High School by a score of 29-0.

Summit’s win over Catholic Memorial advanced the team to the national championship match where the team faced last year’s returning champions, Divine Savior Holy Angels High School from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The team held its own against the returning champs, but Divine Savior Holy Angels High School successfully defended its title. It defeated Summit by a score of 15-5.

“We lost 15-5 but played a great second half against the defending champs,” head coach Karl Barth said in a text. “Great effort against a really good side.”

Barth added that it was an awesome showing since the team played four games involving 15 players on the pitch this year, commonly called 15s in rugby terms.

The Summit Tigers girls rugby team walked away from the national tournament with a second place trophy, matching the program’s best finish from 2016. The team will now train throughout the summer and early fall for the upcoming state high school season.