After a productive fall and spring season, the Penn State men's rugby team's hope for a national title has come to an end in sunny California.

The Ruggers began the weekend by beating Bowling Green 37-26 on Saturday in the Sweet 16 and advanced to the Elite 8 Sunday, where their hopes were dashed by Harvard, 53-29.

"We are bummed right now," senior Adam Zilcoski said. "We lost our chance to go to the Final Four and compete for the national championship." Coming off an upset victory against Utah on Saturday (37-29), Harvard continued its winning ways by building an early lead. In fact, Harvard tallied a 36-5 halftime lead that had the Ruggers gasping for air.

"They played amazingly," Zilcoski said. "They came out of the gates really fired up."

Although the team fell behind early, the Ruggers would not quit. Led by sophomore Dominic Mara's three tries, Penn State took control of the second half and put together a 24-point run. It would not be enough, though, as Harvard managed to keep adding onto its already dominating score.

"The second half we played really well," Zilcoski said. "We ended the game with a lot of heart and pride."

Mara contributed 24 out of the 29 points that the Ruggers scored in the game, while sophomore Jon Cambras added a try.

The Ruggers played one of their best games of the year on Saturday.

"We played well," Penn State rugby coach Terry Ryland said. "We did a lot of good things, but we had some minor mistakes." The seniors led the charge against Bowling Green. Josh Colegrove led the attack by scoring three tries. Captain Jason Fisher, Brent Ilgen and Dustin Noel also contributed to the victory, each scoring a try.

"Bowling Green was a tough team," Ryland said. "We played good enough to move on."

Although the championship run is over for the Ruggers, the team should not be disappointed with its season.

"We had our ups and downs," Zilcoski said. "Overall, I am happy with the team even though our outcome was not a national championship. I am proud that I got the chance to play with a great group of guys."

The Elite 8 loss will be the motivating factor for next year's team as the Ruggers prepare for another productive season in hopes of a different outcome.