Tennessee earned their first ever division I-AA national championship title on Saturday with a 21-15 win over Bowling Green in Houston. This match was truly a great show of sportsmanship, skill and hunger for gold, but ultimately the No. 1 seed Tennessee upheld their undefeated winning streak to make Bowling Green runners up once again. 

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Bowling Green smashed out a try and conversion right off the bat from flanker Philip Tracey to take an early 7-0 lead. Tennessee didn’t let that slide, snatching the lead 14-7 at half. Fly half Brendan O’Neill and center Michael McGettigan secured the tries, with conversions from fullback Vincent Keller to add to his whopping 106 points this season. 

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Thirsting for that upset, the Falcons snuck ahead of the Vols 15-14 to start the second half with a try from Tracey and penalty kick from fullback Joseph Apel. Eight man Roman Funkhouser ultimately sealed the deal for the Vols with a try late in the half after an overturned Falcon try, followed up by a conversion from Keller to hoist the trophy with a 21-15 win.

This is Tennessee’s first national championship title, but not their first win over Bowling Green. The two teams faced off in 2021 at USA Rugby’s division I-AA playoffs, with the Vols claiming the win 36-32.

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The Vols redeemed themselves from last year after showing up with a beat up team, but this year's healthy roster did the trick with Brendan O’Neill claiming MVP for the match.

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