May 12—The Life University women's rugby team defeated Lindenwood 24-14 to win USA Rugby's College Premier 7s national championship last Sunday in Houston.

Life finished the season 17-5 and capped it off by defeating the four-time defending champions.

"Susan Adegoke was named the tournament MVP and Alex Wantlin was the captain and on-field leader with a top-level work rate." Life coach Ryszard Chadwick said in a release. "We named Nina Wilson our MVP as she was consistently excellent in her role. She was the glue of the team and played the most minutes out of everyone all tournament."

Coming into the tournament, the Running Eagles were the No. 1 seed, which added pressure. In the opener against Davenport, Life trailed early before it composed itself in the second half, scoring with the last play to end the game with a 17-12 win.

The Running Eagles trailed in Game 2 against CRAA Women Selects. Life scored with only a few seconds to spare in the second half to claim a 24-14 victory. In Game 3, the team started and finished strong against Army, winning 38-12.

The Running Eagles faced Central Washington in the quarterfinals and trailed 14-7 at halftime as the Wildcats' high-level players and multiple unforced errors put Life in a hole. However, the Running Eagles were able to bounce back in the second half to win 24-12.

The next day in the semifinals, Life faced Harvard. After trailing 17-0 at halftime, the Running Eagles dominated on both sides of the ball in the second half. Relentless pressure starved Harvard of any possession, with Life completing the unlikely comeback to win the game 21-17.