Anita Kowalski/Photography Editor
The UD rugby team fell short in their bid for a national champiosnhip, ending their season 17-4 and finishing No. 6 in Division II.

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Joe Pott
SPORTS EDITOR
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How does the saying go? The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat. As their 1998-1999 season came to an end, the UD Rugby now knows first hand, both sides of that popular sports quote.

After a successful spring season UD advanced to last weekend’s Collegiate Division II National Championships in Cincinnati. The team entered the tournament seeded fifth with a 16-2 overall record. Their first round opponent was supposed to be the No. 4 seed Yale University. Yale was unable to come up with the funding and the transportation to attend, so UD instead faced Colby State University

Colby State took down UD 23-22 in the first game. UD lost in just the final minute of the game.

Team member Dave Ristaino cited a good kicking game that allowed Colby State to come out on top.

"We went into the half up by nine," Ristaino said. "They had a good kicking game and the wind advantage in the second half."

Ristaino, who scored twice in the losing effort, also said penalties were a factor.

"It was so close," he said. "We were penalized a lot though, and that tells the story."

From there, UD advanced to a consolation round match-up with Clemson University. This time UD came out on top with a 48-13 win.

"We came out pumped up," Ristaino said. "We were in a lot better physical shape than them."

The team’s third and ultimately final game came against Salsbury State University, and again UD came out on the losing side of a hard fought battle, falling 24-22. Like the Colby State game, Salsbury State scored in the final minutes for the victory. UD finished the tournament in sixth place.

For Ristaino and the rest of the team, it wasn’t just about where the team finished.

"We were together as a team," he said. "We had a lot of comradery."

Ristaino said coming into the season, he never expected the team to go this far.

"We knew we had a good team," Ristaino said. "I didn’t think, and I don’t think anyone thought that this would be the outcome."

Ristaino said this year’s team just jelled.

"We had some really good seniors come back," he said. "But we had some great underclassman as well."

This was the first time a UD team had ever participated in the National Championships and for Ristaino, it was quite an experience.

"You don’t think about it, because rugby isn’t so big in the states," he said. "We finished sixth in the nation! That whole concept is pretty cool."