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.
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.
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.
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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.
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.
