All good things, no matter how prolonged, must eventually meet their end. After nearly eight months, that time finally arrived this past weekend for the rugby team’s undefeated record. After slicing through the regular season with no losses and a tie, the Falcons finally met their match in the form of a powerful San Diego St. squad, which used superior athleticism to overwhelm the Midwest Champions 50-12 in the first round of the National Collegiate Championships Friday in Palo Alto California. ‘It certainly was not our best game to be sure,’ coach Tony Mazzarella said. ‘They [San Diego St.] were obviously very, very talented. All of their guards and forwards were very fast and mobile. Quite honestly, even on our best day they probably would have beaten us.’ The Falcons did hang tough against the Aztecs early, tying the match 5-5 on a try from Mark Viviani early in the first half. The two teams would remain deadlocked throughout the majority of the half before the overall talent of the Aztecs, converged with fatigue on the part of BG to account for a flurry of six San Diego St. tries and five conversions, a run which began late in the first half and spilled over into the second. By the time the dust had settled, the Falcons found themselves trailing 45-5, with the clear sense that this was not to be their day. The Falcon defense would proceed to settle down, only allowing five points the remainder of the contest, but scaling the 40-point deficit would prove too daunting a task. A 50-yard try by Rocco Mauer and a conversion from Mitch Albers was all BG could muster. The weekend was not over yet for the Falcons however. Though the San Diego St. loss eliminated them from the tournament, they returned to the field the next day to take on Utah for seeding purposes in next year’s event. Things started off much better this time around for the Falcons who, behind tries from Jason Green and Ben Marshall, grabbed a 17-5 lead, heading into halftime. However, the wear and tear of a long season began to finally take its toll in the second half, as a slew of injuries forced several key Falcons from the game. Mark Viviani and Tony Brown each suffered concussions. Colin Murphy needed seven stitches to repair a gash. Nick Brandenstein-whose brother Dan left the first game with an injury- was hobbled with a strained knee. With the BG sideline beginning to resemble a M.A.S.H unit, and those remaining on the field slackened by the 80-degree heat, the Utes took control with four tries and two conversions to move in front 29-17, which would turn out to be the final margin. ‘We just ran out of gas in the second game,’ Mazzarella said. ‘Over the course of a long season guys are going to get banged up, and it just finally caught up to us in the second half.’ The weather, however beautiful it may have been, certainly did the Falcons no favors either. After enduring the often-schizophrenic conditions in Ohio, BG played back-to-back games in 80-plus degree weather for the first time all year. ‘It [the weather] didn’t really affect us much in the first game,’ Mazzarella said. ‘But against Utah it really showed, especially in the second half.’ Despite the disappointing finish, the Falcons have nothing to hang their heads about however. An undefeated regular season and a conference title are accomplishments that are by no means meager. With a bunch of young returning starters, plus the expected return of Nick Viviani, Mazzarella feels that this experience could serve as a useful building block for his squad. ‘We have about 5 or 6 guys that did not start the year on A-side that got valuable experience with us in the spring and should be key contributors next year. After getting this experience under their belts they should be fully aware of what to expect at this level when we start training in the summer.’