DAYTON, Ohio--The Harvard Rugby Club placed second in the nation here yesterday after falling to the University of California at Berkeley, 6-3, during sudden death overtime in the finals of the collegiate championships.

For 80 minutes of regular play and ten minutes of overtime, the club-status Crimson and the Bears, who have varsity status and funding, matched each other blow for blow in a torrential rainstorm before Mick Luckhurst split the uprights with a 25-yd. penalty kick to end the game.

Within the first five minutes of overtime. Crimson backs Kip Mackenzie and Sabin Willet broke the two longest runs of the game and almost provided Harvard with the national title. Following Mackenzie's run and subsequent kick, one California player said that the Bears "were only hanging on by a thread."

After easily defeating third-place finisher Miami of Ohio, 25-7, Saturday to reach the finals, the Crimson was dominated by favored Berkeley during the first half of play. Shortly after the beginning of the game, the Bears notched three points on a penalty kick by Luckhurst, who was the kicker for the California football team and recently signed a contract with the Atlanta Falcons.

Repeatedly, the blue and gold ruggers forced the Crimson backwards by resorting to a kicking game to combat the stormy weather. At one point, Lockhurst turned a Harvard advantage around by booming a 70-yd. punt deep into Crimson territory.

Only during one five-minute stretch did Harvard gain control of play. Then, scrum half Keith Oberg, the most valuable back of the tournament, came within inches of scoring a try for the Crimson. During the match, Oberg also blocked a kick and made several crucial tackles against the Californians.

In the second half, the Bears often found themselves within their own 25. Aggressive pursuit by the Crimson had rendered Berkeley's kicking game relatively ineffective, and had given Harvard three points on a Charlie Bott penalty kick ten minutes after halftime.

Pulled hamstrings, suffered by Bott and Willet, the two sparkplugs of the back line, forced them to leave the game and stalled two Crimson drives deep in Bear territory. Bott pulled up lame on a breakaway with five minutes left in regular time, and Willet left the contest moments after his 35-yd. romp during overtime.

Harvard's performance during the past year has silenced critics of East Coast college rugby. Few doubted that the two best teams in the country were battling for the national crown on Sunday.

Although the Crimson will lose seven of its starters next year, the team's depth and experience have made Harvard one of the pre-season favorites in the topsy-turvy world of college rugby. Two-time national champion Berkeley, with almost all of its key players graduating, is expected to suffer through a rebuilding year.

Prestigious city rugby clubs from New York, Chicago and Berkeley repeatedly attempted to recruit Harvard ruggers to play for their sides after graduation.

Yesterday's loss snapped the club's 23-game winning streak, but will not force Bott to change his "lucky" socks, because he was not playing when Harvard lost.

Oberg lived and played with two of Cal's ruggers two summers ago. He and Ed Thompkins will travel to New Zealand this summer to sharpen their rugby skills.

Steven J. Rosston is a member of the Harvard rugby team and an editor of The Crimson.