Wake Rugby Announces 2012 Spring Schedule

Wake Forest men's rugby team has finalized it's schedule for spring 2012. The slate includes two non conference preseason games and 7 Atlantic Coast Rugby League games. Wake's home games will be played on Poteat Field in the middle of campus, although the field will have a different look than in years past because of construction of the new business school nearby.

Feb. 11- Georgetown University
Feb. 18- @University of Mary Washington
Feb. 25- @University of North Carolina
Mar. 3- @Georgia Tech
Mar. 10- Bye
Mar. 17- Bye
Mar. 24- University of Virginia
Mar. 31- @North Carolina State
Apr. 7- @University of Maryland
Apr. 14- Clemson University
Apr. 21- Virginia Tech

Brandon Turner Awarded Rhodes Scholarship

Brandon Turner, on his way to a hat trick against Georgia Tech in 2009

Senior wing Brandon Turner was not in Wilmington on Friday night for Wake's game against UNC-W. Instead, he was in Washington, DC, interviewing for the Rhodes Scholarship. Brandon, a two-time North Carolina Collegiate Rugby All-Star, a USA Rugby South U-20 All-Star, a member of the 2011 ACRL All-Academic team and recipient of the Wake Forest Rugby Marcum Scholarship, has an impressive resume, both on and off the field. But on Saturday afternoon that resume became virtually untouchable, as Brandon was named one of the 32 national recipients of the Rhodes Scholarship, widely regarded as the world's most prestigious scholarship. Brandon will now pursue a master's in global public health at Oxford University in 2012-2013, where he will hopefully continue his rugby career as well.

To read the Wake Forest University release, follow this link:

http://news.wfu.edu/2011/11/20/turner-named-rhodes-scholar/

Wake Ends Fall on Sour Note

Wake finished its fall exhibition season with a 19-5 loss to UNC-Wilmington on Friday night in the Port City. With a number of regular starters benched for disciplinary reasons and senior wing Brandon Turner unavailable while interviewing in Washington for the Rhodes Scholarship, Wake put a strong new-look squad out to face a highly-ranked D2 Seahawk side. After a quick converted try put UNC-W up 7-0, Wake's forwards began to exert control of the game, maintaining possession well and setting a good platform for the backline. The Demon Deacon backs, however, were unable to make many breaks through the Seahawk defensive line and an opportunistic play saw UNC-W score in the corner to go up 12-0 at the 30 minute mark.

With the Seahawk players inexplicably shouting that they were on their way to scoring 100 points, the Wake forwards' physical domination led to a try for senior prop Matt Storck which brought the score to 12-5 at the half.

The second half saw Wake control territory and possession, but the Seahawks defense was stout and the Demon Deacons were unable to put any points on the board. With time running out UNC-W moved into the Wake half and a well-executed backline play sent a Seahawk center in under the posts and iced the victory. In a massive show of respect for the Demon Deacon program, the Seahawks stormed the field when the final whistle blew on the exhibition game, celebrating as if they had won the national championship.

In the JV game, Wake suffered another loss. Lack of cohesion and poor tackling plaugued Wake throught the JV game and despite converted tries from sophomores Drew Ammons and Jack Zimmerman, the Demon Deacons fell 29-14.

Wake now goes into its offseason and will prepare for the upcoming rigors of the Atlantic Coast Rugby League season.

Wake Varsity vs. UNC-W

1. Matt Storck, Sr.
2. Matt McCurdy, So.
3. Nick Conte, Sr. (Iain Dormer, Fr. @15-24 blood sub)
4. Christian Gutowski, Fr.
5. Gavin Bishop, Fr. (James Watson, So. @ 40)
6. Paul Shumaker, So.
7. Rob Elmore, So. (Jeff Millar, Sr. @ 65)
8. Brendan Shea, Sr. (c)
9. Will Hank, Sr.
10. Ben Cohen, Sr.
11. Drew Ammons, So. (Ryan Tacon, So. @ 40)
12. Tim Bishop, So. (Liam McIntyre, So. @ 55)
13. Tim Zage, So.
14. Peter Conway, Fr. (Jack Zimmerman, So. @ 40)
15. Tommy Kinzer, Fr.

Tries: Storck
YC: T. Bishop

25 Years Ago

1986 Wake Forest Men's Rugby Team

Improved Performance Sees Wake Past UNC-Greensboro

Wake Forest continued its exhibition season on Friday night with a 66-7 victory over a very young UNC-Greensboro side. Unlike last weekend, when the Tennessee Volunteers stifling defense kept Wake from any offensive continuity, on Friday the Demon Deacons were able to play a more structured game and utilize good ball retention from the forwards to launch backline attacks. The result was two tries apiece for Wake's centers, Ben Cohen and Ryan Tacon, and single tries from wings Franco Cima and Brandon Turner and fullback Tommy Kinzer. The forwards also go on the scoresheet, with James Watson, Christian Gutowski, and Nick Conte all touching down. Wake's offense was bolstered by the return of flyhalf Johnny McMurray, who spent most of this semester studying abroad in Australia.

Wake's JV side was able to play a shortened match with UNC-G, which ended deadlocked at 7-7. Sophomore flanker Liam McIntyre scored the JV's try.

Wake is next in action on Friday, November 18, at UNC-Wilmington. The Seahawks are a nationally-ranked D2 squad who is the preseason favorite to win the Southern Rugby Conference title. This weekend they gave Virginia Tech all they could handle in Blacksburg, leading for much of the match until finally falling to the Hokies 24-13. UNC-W will be a strong test for Wake and the Demon Deacons will have to put in alot of preparation if they want to finish the fall on a winning note.

Varsity Lineup vs UNC-G

1. Matt Storck, Sr.
2. Jeff Millar, Sr. (Bryce Lambert, So. @ 40)
3. Nick Conte, Sr. (Iain Dormer, Fr. @ 50)
4. Rob Elmore, So. (Gavin Bishop, Fr. @ 40)
5. Christian Gutowski, Fr.
6. James Watson, So.
7. Matt McCurdy, So. (Liam McIntyre, So. @ 70)
8. Brendan Shea, Sr. (c)
9. Will Hank, Sr. (Brandon Turner, Sr. @ 40)
10. Johnny McMurray, Jr.
11. Franco Cima, So. (Tim Zage, So. @ 40)
12. Ben Cohen, Sr. (Kip Lewis, Sr. @ 70)
13. Ryan Tacon, So.
14. Jack Zimmerman, So.
15. Tommy Kinzer, Fr.

Tries: Tacon (2), Cohen (2), Cima, Conte, Kinzer, Turner, Watson, Gutowski
Convs: McMurray (8)
YC: Bishop

Wake Opens Exhibition Season with Loss to Tennessee

Wake Forest opened the exhibition portion of its 2011-2012 15s season on Saturday against the University of Tennessee on the campus of Elon University in Burlington, NC. In unseasonably cold weather and on a soaking wet field, the Demon Deacons fell 55-5 to a very strong Volunteer side. UT used an excellent attacking platform and a stifling backline defense to control territory and possession, while denying Wake many significant attacking opportunities. Wake's lone try came midway through the first half, after a long run by sophomore wing Mark Veikos, playing in his first ever rugby game, led to a penalty on UT deep in Volunteer territory. Prop Matt Storck bashed towards the line off a penalty play and a few tight phases later the Demon Deacons were able to touch down in the corner for their only points of the game.

Head Coach Pat Kane was optimistic about his team's play, despite the lopsided scoreline. "We are at the start of our 15s season, while Tennessee was at the tail end of theirs. We held our own physically, but simply were not used to the speed with which a team like UT plays the game. This was a great experience for our guys and there are alot of positive things I saw that we can build on. 3 freshmen and 11 sophomores saw time for us today, and once these young guys start getting more comfortable with the attack and defense patterns we want to play, I think we have the potential be very good."

Wake will next be in action against UNC-Greensboro on Friday night at UNC-G. Kickoff time is TBA and both a Varsity and JV game are expected to be played.

Wake Lineup vs. Tennessee

1. Matt Storck, Sr.
2. Jeff Millar, Sr. (Bryce Lambert, So. @ 60)
3. Nick Conte, Sr. (Iain Dormer, Fr. @ 72)
4. Rob Elmore, So. (Liam McIntyre, So. @ 40, Tim Zage, So. @ 60)
5. Paul Shumaker, So. (Christian Gutowski, Fr. @ 40)
6. James Watson, So.
7. Matt McCurdy, So.
8. Brendan Shea, Sr. (c)
9. Will Hank, Sr.
10. Jack Zimmerman, So.
11. Mark Veikos, So. (Franco Cima, So. @ 40)
12. Ben Cohen, Sr.
13. Ryan Tacon, So.
14. Brandon Turner, Sr.
15. Tommy Kinzer, Fr.

Tries: Hank

Annual Alumni Game Moved to Davidson College

2009 Alumni Team After 41-32 Victory

Due to unresolvable issues with Poteat Field, the annual Alumni Match will be played at Davidson College on Oct. 15. The Alumni will take on Wake's Varsity side at 12pm followed by Wake's JV side playing Davidson. The Alumni will look to record a 5th straight win in the annual game.