Orcas Take on LAI 7s

On the men's side of the 2023 Los Angeles Invitational 7s, Devereaux Ferris was named Captain of the Cal Grizzlies. Their team was entered in the Men's Premier division, playing in four games and going 3-1 in throughout the weekend. Dev was instrumental with his leadership and field vision for the Grizzlies.

Dion Crowder suited up for ROOTS rugby, also in the Men's Premier division. Dion was a pivotal playmaker and distributor, kicking 3 for 3 on conversions while posts were still up, and helping the team to a 4th place finish.

On the women's side, Nikki Kenyon, Seneca Friend, and Erica "Legs" Legaspi also represented the Cal Grizzlies in the Women's Elite division at the LAI. They were coached by Irene Gardner and Lucy Croy, and Nikki had the honor of being named the team captain. The weather was unseasonably stormy, leaving the grass fields to be unplayable, so the field location was switched with teams notified the night before play. The Elite Teams played on Friday and Saturday at Toyota Soccer Complex. On Day 1, the team went 3-0 with wins over Coast Guard, Rhinos Black, and Hartford Harpooners.

Throughout the day, the posts fell over and kicking was no longer real. The men were tasked with putting the tents down, but the task proved to be too difficult, so when the women arrived at the field on day 2, they came to a city of broken tents, with 2 of the 4 tents becoming a pile of garbage. The women won their QF match up against Mexico, sending them into a SF against Rhinos Green. Rhinos Green proved to be too clinical, and won a bid into the women's elite final that was meant to be played in the Stadium, but was only recently rescheduled and played at half-time of a San Diego Legion game. A 3/4 match between the Grizzlies and Scion was not scheduled nor played. Nikki was all over the pitch making plays and big hits. Legs and Seneca held down the edge, with Seneca scoring a handful of tries.

Legs also doubled down for all the rugby and played with the Magandaquins in the Women's Open division. They played on Saturday at Dignity Health Sports Park and went 1-1 against Guelph and Coast Guard, before the Open was completely cancelled due to lightning and thunder delays. The Magandaquins are a Filipina heritage team that Legs has helped found. The LAI was their debut tournament.

Overall, it was a weekend of great vibes and terrible weather. We're proud of our five players for weathering the adversity of the storm and representing our club well.