The Hodags entered Nationals hoping for a 2-1 Friday finish that would put them in a position to make the quarterfinals on Saturday. They finished Friday with two wins and a loss, but in roundabout fashion. The Hodags knew who they would be playing on the first day of Nationals, in Boise, Idaho. Notre Dame, who they had stomped with mechanical precision earlier in the season. North Carolina State, the reigning national champs who the Hodags had beaten twice previously that spring. And Brown University, the number one team in the nation, who had lost just twice the entire year.

Wisconsin beat Notre Dame badly, 15-8, but came out flat against State to the tune of a 11-4 deficit. They went on to turn the disc over an amazing 32 times, crumbling to a 14-12 loss to State. The Hodags lumbered off the field dismayed, and walked up the hill to face Brown, who had just completed another cakewalk victory.

The game started with the teams trading points; the game was tied at 3-3 and 4-4 when Brown began to make a little run. But after a little comeback by the Hodags, it was tied at 6-6, and again at 7-7, and spectators waited for Brown to pull away, the way they always did. But Wisconsin was moving the disc quickly. Then Wei Lu and Tyler Spindler came up with two enormous blocks, and the Brown players began to look at each other in confusion. The Hodags weren't really sure what was happening, but they were in the game at the half.

In the second half, the crowds began to fill the sidelines, excited at the possibility that the goliath might be taken down. The game was tied at 10-10, 11-11, 12-12, 13-13, 14-14 and 15-15. Brownian Motion clenched its teeth, not accustomed to being in such a close game. College MVPs Fortunat Mueller (1999) and Justin Safdie (2000) pushed their team to finish it, but it Safdie couldn't gather a low pass on the last point, and Brown turned it. Wisconsin moved the disc until Jonathan "Opie" O'Connell threw a pass to Tyler Spindler that started over Tyler's head. Somehow, Bryan "Garbage Man" Paradise found himself alone in the end zone next to the disc and called Tyler off before firmly clapping it. 16-15, Wisconsin. The first time in Nationals history that the #1 had been beaten in pool play. The Hodags had the 2-1 start that they wanted.

The Hodags had won the right to play #15 seed Salisbury State on Saturday morning for a shot into quarterfinals. But this time, Wisconsin's Mr. Hyde reared its ugly head. The Hodags dropped disc after disc and made countless errant throws, reverting back to the bumbling bunch they had been in the NC State game. Salisbury accepted the gift and walked away barely fatigued, 15-7, having knocked the UW from the tournament. Brown went on to win the National Championship, allowing no other team to score more than 10 points on them the rest of the tournament. Salisbury State got crushed in the quarterfinals. Wisconsin boarded the plane having finished 10th, thinking about what they had done, and also about what they could have done.

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