Stop #2 Delivers: Close Finishes and New Winners at Steuber Rugby Stadium
Stanford, Calif.: Stop #2 of the 2026 West Coast Sevens tour brought 40 matches across four divisions to Stanford University's Steuber Rugby Stadium on Saturday, October 10, and what a day it was. Lovely fall weather, packed sidelines from the first 8 a.m. kickoff to the final whistle, and fast, physical sevens running on two fields all day long. By the end of the afternoon we had crowned five champions, each presented by our partners at Axos Bank, and some of the best rugby of the day came from our women's collegiate and high school girls brackets.
Women's Collegiate
The women's round robin could hardly have been closer: Stanford, Sacramento State and UCSB all finished 2–1, and UCSB came out on top to take the title.
UCSB opened with a 31–5 win over Cal and closed with a statement 33–7 victory over Sac State. Stanford handed UCSB its only loss, 26–17, and finished strong with a 36–0 win over Cal, while Sac State's 19–14 upset of Stanford in the first match of the morning set the tone for a bracket where every game mattered.
High School Girls
Lady Lions Rugby took home the HS Girls championship, powered by dominant wins of 43–0 over Bishop O'Dowd and 38–5 over Carondelet before a two-point thriller against Rio Americano in the final round.
Rio Americano was outstanding all day, beating Carondelet 29–0 and Bishop O'Dowd 19–12, and Bishop O'Dowd picked up a hard-fought 24–19 win over Carondelet.
Men's Collegiate: Champion Division
Saint Mary's College was the story of the bracket. New to the tour this year, the Gaels earned their place in the final the hard way: 12–5 over Cal 2, 24–7 over Cal Poly and a convincing 33–14 semifinal win over Indiana University. Indiana, another 2026 newcomer, opened the day with a 26–21 win over Saint Mary's College 2 and bounced back from its semifinal to claim third place, 29–17 over Cal Poly.
Cal took the title with a 31–12 win over Saint Mary's College in the final, and Cal 2 edged Saint Mary's College 2 15–12 in a tight fifth-place game.
Men's Collegiate: Challenger Division
The Challenger bracket delivered the drama of the day, and Cal Poly 2 walked away with the trophy, the program's first Challenger title in years. After a 36–0 opener against Cal State Fullerton and a pool-stage loss to Stanford, Cal Poly 2 found another gear in the knockouts, beating American River College 19–14 in the semifinal and holding off UC Davis 10–7 in a nail-biting final.
UC Davis earned its spot in that final with the upset of the day, knocking off host Stanford 31–26 in the semifinal after Stanford had rolled through pool play with 36–0 and 31–7 wins. Stanford responded in style, shutting out American River College 22–0 for third place, and San Francisco State took the consolation final 29–14 over Cal State Fullerton.
High School Boys
The Carmichael Hawks are making a habit of this. Carmichael swept its three games, 12–0 over St. Ignatius, 36–10 over Oaks Rugby and 19–12 over Cathedral Catholic in the deciding match, to collect its second HS Boys title of 2026 while allowing just 22 points all day.
Cathedral Catholic was impressive in its other two outings, beating Oaks Rugby 26–12 and St. Ignatius 40–14, and St. Ignatius edged Oaks Rugby 19–17 in one of the closest games of the tournament.
Missed It? Watch Every Game on YouTube
Every match from Stanford is available to rewatch on the West Coast Sevens YouTube channel (@WestCoastSevensRugby), brought to you by TVX Video.
Our broadcast booth grew for the NorCal stop, with former USA Eagles and Rugby World Cup veterans Alycia Washington and Phil Thiel joining Will Hooley, Colin Hawley, Jeremy Ognall and Alex Corbisiero on the call.
If you only have time for a few, start with UC Davis' 31–26 semifinal upset of Stanford, the 10–7 Challenger final, and UCSB's 33–7 win over Sac State and the Lady Lions' showdown with Rio Americano.
What's Next
The tour heads south for the season finale in Oceanside at the SoCal Sports Complex, October 17–18.
A huge thank you to Stanford University and Steuber Rugby Stadium for hosting, to Axos Bank and TVX Video, to our referees and volunteers, and to every player, coach and fan who made Stop #2 so special. See you in Oceanside!
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