Kelter scores again but Team USA still waits for Olympic berth
Eagle River’s Alev Kelter found her way into the scoring column once again for the USA Women’s Eagles rugby team at the IRB Sevens World Series in Amsterdam.
She converted a try in the second half against England but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to save the Americans from a 15-14 loss that denied them an automatic berth to the Olympics.
Now the Americans heads back to qualifying. Their first shot will come in three weeks at an international tournament in North Carolina.
Team USA and England faced off in the fourth-place game of the Amsterdam tournament in a winner-takes-all sweepstakes for an automatic berth to 2016 Rio Games.
Kelter, of Chugiak High fame, started all five games for Team USA in Amsterdam as the team finished 3-2.
The IRB Sevens World Series featured six tournaments all over the world, culminating with the one in Amsterdam. New Zealand finished No. 1 with 108 points, followed by Canada with 96, Australia with 94, England with 76 and Team USA with 76.
This was the best scoring tournament for Kelver, a former two-sport star for the University of Wisconsin in hockey and soccer.
In addition scoring against England, she scored a 5-point try and a 2-point conversion in a 36-14 win over Fiji.
The first-year rugby player has collected 4 tries and 3 conversations in her brief international career.