The Christendom men's rugby team's season came to a close in Washington, D.C., this past weekend, with the rugby team taking fourth at the Collegiate Rugby Championship. After defeating Western Oregon and Duke in the first two rounds of the championship tournament on Friday, they ultimately came up short against Slippery Rock in the national semifinal game on Saturday.
Christendom entered the tournament as the #1 ranked team in their bracket after a hugely successful spring 7s season that saw them win multiple tournaments, including their conference championship. The team, playing in their seventh-straight Collegiate Rugby Championship, began the tournament with a dominant win over Western Oregon, defeating them 31-7. Charlie Ackla was a force to be reckoned with in the opening match, scoring four tries on his own, with Frank Woltering scoring a final try to wrap up the game.
The win earned Christendom a trip to the national quarterfinal matchup against longtime rival Duke University on Friday afternoon. The team, still riding momentum from the last game, continued their offensive dominance, quickly going up 12-0 on Duke thanks to tries from Ackla and Chris Santschi. Duke, however, refused to go down without a fight, tying the game 17-17 with only seconds left on the clock. Shortly after, Santschi received a pass near Christendom's own try line and made a huge breakaway down the field as the clock wound down, ducking Duke players and sliding across the try line to give Christendom the lead. A kick from Ackla sealed the game for Christendom, 24-17, earning them a trip to the national semifinal game against Slippery Rock on Saturday morning.
Playing in the stadium on Saturday morning, Christendom burst onto the field, eager for another trip to the Collegiate Rugby Championship game. Slippery Rock, however, had other plans, grabbing a 5-0 lead over Christendom early in the game. They held that slight lead for most of the game, as the two teams' defenses continued to hold each other back. With time running out, Santschi, once again, got the ball and finally punched through Slippery Rock's defense, scoring and giving Christendom a slight 7-5 lead. That slight lead proved to be too slight, in the end. Slippery Rock grabbed the ball right back and scored with only seconds left on the clock. Christendom, with one play remaining, tried to make it back down the field, but failed to do so, taking a 12-7 loss and ending their championship run. The team would later fall to Endicott 21-12 in the third-place game, earning them a fourth-place finish.
Despite a fourth-place finish, Christendom ended the season with much to be proud of. Out of 196 total National Collegiate Rugby Small College 7s programs, they finished fourth overall, coming up just short in the end. They played a strong 7s season, where they won four tournaments and won 22 games overall, along with a strong 15s season, where they went all the way to the National Collegiate Rugby 15s Sweet Sixteen.
The team, in its seventh-straight trip to the Collegiate Rugby Championship tournament, showed that they still remain one of the top college rugby programs in the nation, fielding hugely successful teams year after year. While they will lose seniors John Kennedy, Dominic Di Falco, Sam Kristine and Hugh Wingate following this season, the team can be confident that they will be back again next year, ready to make another run at a national championship title.