Carolinas Rugby League Preview

http://www.carolinasrugby.com/news/2009/112209_preview.htm

Wake Rugby 2009-2010 Ca$h Ba$h Fundraising Raffle Underway

The Wake Forest Men's Rugby Team's annual fundraising raffle kicks off today. All proceeds from the raffle will go to defray the team's expenses for participation in the inaugural season of the Carolinas Rugby League, featuring University of North Carolina, North Carolina State, Clemson, University of South Carolina, East Carolina, Appalachian State and Wake Forest.

Details of the raffle are as follows:

FIRST PRIZE: $500
SECOND PRIZE: $250
THIRD PRIZE: $100
FOURTH PRIZE (6): $25
FIFTH PRIZE (8): Wake Rugby Golf Shirt
SIXTH PRIZE (10): Wake Rugby T Shirt

TICKETS: $2/piece or 3 for $5

DRAWING: JANUARY 31, 2010

Winners will be announced on wakeforestrugby.blogspot.com and will be notified by phone or email.

To purchase tickets, contact Patrick Kane at pmkane78@aol.com.

Middlesex Secures National Playoff Spot

Matt Gottbrecht, Wake Forest Rugby '09, helped the Middlesex Barbarians to a second place finish in the Northeast Division II Regional Playoffs. Middlesex thus advances to the USA Rugby National Playoffs in May. Full reports on the matches are available from RugbyMag.com.

http://www.rugbymag.com/news/clubs/men-dii-clubs/middlesex-bayonne-in-dii-nru-final.aspx

http://www.rugbymag.com/news/clubs/men-dii-clubs/bayonne-flies-by-barbarians-to-win-nru.aspx

Gottbrecht Looks to Lead Middlesex to National Playoffs

Matt Gottbrecht, Wake Rugby Class of 2009, will lead the Middlesex Barbarians (Boston, MA) into the Northeast Division II Senior Men's Playoffs this weekend in New York City. Gottbrecht, an openside flanker, helped Middlesex to an undefeated regular season in the team's first year in Division II after moving up from Division III this fall. Middlesex will take on Monmouth (NJ) on Saturday and if victorious will then face the winner of Bayonne (NJ) and Montauk (Long Island, NY) for the Northeast Championship on Sunday. Both teams that advance to the finals will receive automatic bids to the USA Rugby national playoffs in the spring.

Turner Sidelined for Spring

Wake Forest's sophomore wing Brandon Turner will miss the 2010 spring season with a torn ACL suffered on November 7 while playing with the North Carolina Collegiate All-Star team. Turner becomes the fourth Wake Forest player to have suffered this fate this fall, joining teammates Matt Storck, Ben Cohen, and Mike Wills. Along with Turner, all of these players were North Carolina Collegiate All-Stars and their absence from the Wake lineup will present a challenge for the team as it competes in the inaugural Carolinas Rugby League season beginning in January. Said head coach Patrick Kane of the string of ACL injuries, "On the plus side, these guys will have plenty of company as they rehab after surgery and hopefully will be able to push each other to get fit and back on the field as early as possible next fall."

Freshmen James Jeffrey and Tommy Hopkins are on the coaching staff's short list to replace Turner on the wing. Turner scored 8 tries in 5 games for the Demon Deacons this preseason.

Wake Finishes Preseason on Winning Note

Behind two tries each from sophomore center Tyler Vanston and sophomore loose forward Jeff Millar, Wake Forest finished its 2009-2010 preseason with a 50-10 victory over Lander University. Sophomore scrumhalf Will Hank added 15 points with the boot and senior center David Sage, sophomore flyhalf Brendan Shea, and junior flanker Clay Robinson each scored tries as Wake ended its fall schedule on a high note.

Meanwhile, in Knoxville, TN, five Wake players helped the North Carolina Collegiate All-Stars to a second place finish in the South Collegiate All-Star Championships. In the first match of the day, North Carolina defeated Georgia 14-11, with Wake Forest lock Christian Jewett scoring a try for the squad. In the championship match, NC fell 23-8 to the Mid-South All-Stars.

Wake now enters the offseason and will focus its efforts on preparing to compete in the newly formed Carolinas Rugby League in the spring.

Wake Lineup vs Lander

1. Nick Conte, So.
2. Chris Ryan, So.
3. Devin Henry. Jr.
4. Billy Caster, Fr. (Matt Layden, So. @ 55)
5. Ty Pierce, Fr.
6. Justen Robinett, So.
7. Kip Lewis, So.
8. Jeff Millar, So.
9. Will Hank, So.
10. Brendan Shea, So.
11. James Jeffrey, Fr.
12. David Sage, Sr.
13. Perry Salvagne, Sr.
14. Tyler Vanston, So. (Clay Robinson, Jr. @ 40)
15. Johnny McMurray, Fr. (Barret Corrigan, Fr. @ 15)

Tries: Shea, Vanston (2), Sage, Millar (2), Robinson
Conversions: Hank (6)
Pens: Hank

Demon Deacons Conclude Preseason On Saturday Against Lander

Wake Forest's 2009-2010 preseason will come to an end on Saturday when the team takes on Lander University in Winston-Salem. Kickoff will be at 1pm. Lander is a developing Division 3 program and Wake will use the game as an opportunity to try out some new combinations and get some much-needed game experience for its younger players.

Meanwhile, five Wake players will be accompanying the North Carolina Collegiate All-Star team to the South Collegiate All-Star Championships in Knoxville, TN. Mike Duffy, Christian Jewett, Trent Justice, Ross Hilton, and Ken Forte will all suit up for the side. Brandon Turner was also set to play for the All-Star team but suffered a serious knee injury in the team's warmup match this past weekend against the Life Rugby Academy.

Rugby Comes to the Big Screen

Watch the trailer for the soon to be released movie "Invictus."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9Ovkye6lac

East Carolina Game Washed Out

Wake Forest's scheduled game against East Carolina has been cancelled due to unplayable field conditions. With ankle deep water making the playing surface unsafe for rugby, the unavoidable decision was made by head referee Ken Muir and tournament organizer Bob Davis to call off today's scheduled North Carolina Rugby Union Tournament matches.

Wake Forest has one remaining match in its 2009-2010 preseason schedule, against Lander University at home on November 14. Wake will then take a two month hiatus from game play as they prepare for the opening of the inaugural Carolinas League season on January 23.

Tar Heels Stun Wake 20-17

The University of North Carolina defeated Wake Forest 20-17 today in the semifinals of the premiere division of the North Carolina Rugby Union Tournament. Wake's forwards dominated play for most of the match, scoring two tries while controlling the breakdown, but a late game charge sparked by the defense of UNC's All-American flanker Alex Lee allowed the talented Tar Heels to score two tries in the waning minutes and advance to tomorrow's championship game. UNC will face off against rivals North Carolina State, who easily defeated defending champions East Carolina 33-3 in the other semifinal. Wake will play ECU for 3rd place tomorrow at 12:30pm. The Pirates have won 6 straight against Wake and both teams will be looking to avoid being moved down to the second division for next year's tournament.

Wake Lineup vs UNC

1. Nick Conte, So. (Devin Henry, Jr. @ 8)
2. Jeff Millar, So.
3. Kenton Forte, Sr.
4. Christian Jewett, Sr.
5. Ross Hilton, Sr.
6. Justen Robinett, So. (Kip Lewis, So. @60, Billy Caster, Fr. @ 68)
7. Mike Duffy, Sr.
8. Trent Justice, Sr.
9. Will Hank, So.
10. Brendan Shea, So.
11. Tyler Vanston, So.
12. David Sage, Sr.
13. Perry Salvagne, Sr.
14. Brandon Turner, So.
15. Johnny McMurray, Fr.

Tries: Christian Jewett, Kenton Forte
Pen: Johnny McMurray
Conv: McMurray (2)

The Wake Forest reserves took on the UNC-Greensboro reserves in a friendly scrimmage later in the day. First year players Barret Corrigan and James Jeffrey scored 5 tries from their positions on the wing as Wake ran out 59-5 winners.

Wake Continues Preseason with Win over Georgia Tech

Sophomore wing Brandon Turner scored the first of his three tries with less than a minute elapsed in the match on a 70 meter run down the sideline, sparking the Demon Deacons to a 52-25 victory over Georgia Tech in Atlanta earlier today. The scoreline was highly flattering to Wake, which showed flashes of good play intermixed with some appalling rugby throughout the day. Georgia Tech was hampered by the absence of their first choice flyhalf and inside center, but played Wake relatively evenly throughout the match and was unlucky not to have posted more points against an easily penetrable Wake defense. Meanwhile, Wake capitalized on many of its opportunities. Captain and 8 man Trent Justice notched a brace of tries, while senior flanker Mike Duffy, senior lock Ross Hilton, and sophomore flyhalf Brendan Shea also tallied 5 pointers to go along with Turner's hat trick. Freshman fullback Johnny McMurray was 6 for 8 on conversions for the day.

Match day captain Justice summed up the Wake performance after the match, saying "we missed alot of tackles that we typically don't miss, we rarely played to our pattern, and we saw far too many passes go to ground. But when we played well, we played really well and the result was a solid victory over a solid opponent on their home turf." Assistant Head Coach Alex Lucas echoed similar sentiments. "It was certainly frustrating to see us put together a few really positive phases of play, only to see it all go to waste with an ill-advised decision or mental breakdown. But clearly we have the talent on this team, and the coaching staff now must find a way to keep the guys playing at a high level for a full 80 minutes and not just in short spurts. We know we have work to do leading into next weekend, and the players are aware that this will not be an easy week of practice."

Wake Forest will take on the University of North Carolina on Saturday, Oct. 31 in Danville Virginia in the semi-final of the premiere division of the North Carolina Rugby Union Tournament. The winner of that match will play on Sunday against the winner of East Carolina and North Carolina State, while the losing sides will play on Sunday to try to avoid relegation to the lower division for next year's tournament. Game times for the weekend have yet to be released.

Wake Lineup vs. Georgia Tech

1. Kenton Forte, Sr.
2. Jeff Millar, So.
3. Nick Conte, So. (Devin Henry, Jr. @ 50)
4. Christian Jewett, Sr.
5. Ross Hilton, Sr.
6. Kip Lewis, So. (Justen Robinett, So. @ 50)
7. Mike Duffy, Sr. (Chris Ryan, So. @ 78)
8. Trent Juctice, Sr.
9. Will Hank, So.
10. Brendan Shea, So.
11. Tyler Vanston, So. (James Jeffrey, Fr. @ 75)
12. David Sage, Sr.
13. Perry Salvagne, Sr.
14. Brandon Turner, So.
15. Johnny McMurray, Fr.

16. Justen Robinett, So.
17. Billy Caster, Fr.
18. Devin Henry, Jr.
19. Chris Ryan, So.
20. Matt Layden, So.
21. Barret Corrigan, Fr.
22. John Coates, Fr.
23. Clay Robinson, Jr.
24. James Jeffrey, Fr.

Tries: Turner (3); Justice (2); Shea; Hilton; Duffy
Conversions: McMurray (6)

Wake to take on Yellow Jackets, Two More Out With Injury

Wake Forest travels to Atlanta, GA this weekend to take on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Tech is fresh off winning the Georgia Rugby Union Collegiate Championship two weeks ago, defeating University of Georgia in the final. The Yellow Jackets should provide Wake with their toughest test to date in the 2009-2010 preseason.

Wake will be facing Georgia Tech without the services of senior inside center Mike Wills and freshman scrumhalf Drew Mehrmann, both of whom are set to undergo season-ending surgery. Wills became the third Demon Deacon to be felled by an ACL tear this season, while Mehrmann will go under the knife to repair a dislocated shoulder. Said Head Coach Patrick Kane of the injuries, "Obviously we are feeling a bit unlucky this year in the injury department, but in a sport like rugby injuries are to be expected. Losing four high caliber players for the season is clearly a blow, but this just opens the door for some of our younger players to step up and show what they can do. I'm confident that we will be in good shape as a team once conference play begins in January."

Kickoff for the game this Saturday is at 12pm at Walker Park located at 200 Memorial Terrace.

Homecoming Matches Feature Offensive Fireworks

The Wake Forest Rugby Alumni defeated Wake Forest 41-32 and the Charlotte Barbarians held off Wake Forest 52-36 in a thrilling day of rugby on Homecoming weekend in Winston-Salem today. The first match of the day kicked off at noon and featured the Wake Alumni against Wake's first side. The Alumni were riding a two game winning streak during which they had not allowed a point.

The Alumni's shutout streak ended shortly after the opening kickoff, when sophomore wing Brandon Turner touched down in the corner to give Wake a 5-0 lead. Turner's try was the first of many to be scored on the day by both squads, as the Alumni and Wake sides traded impressive scores all afternoon. The Alumni scored seven tries on the day with fullback David Buckingham '07 (New Orleans RFC) and #8 Timo Kawira '09 (Unaffiliated) each notching a brace and flanker Matt Gottbrecht '09 (Middlesex RFC), flyhalf Tyler Eure '08 (Potomac Athletic Club) and prop Hien Nguyen '07 (Unaffiliated) all touching down as well. Eure was 3 for 7 on conversions.

The Wake side was paced by two tries from Turner, and singles from sophomore flyhalf Brendan Shea, senior hooker Mike Duffy and senior lock Christian Jewett. Freshman fullback Johnny McMurry added 7 points with the boot with two conversions and a penalty goal.

The outcome of the game was in the balance leading into the final 20 minutes, when Scott Adams '97 (Charlotte Barbarians) made his first appearance on the field at center and helped put the match away for the Alumni with a number of impressive runs and good support work with former teammate Bryan Beach '99 (Atlanta Renegades) leading to tries from Nguyen and Gottbrecht.

The match featured exciting, expansive attacking rugby from both sides and the Alumni were somewhat lucky to come away with their third straight victory.

Wake Rugby Alumni
1. Hien Nguyen '07 (Unaffliliated)
2. Barry Horewitch '09 (Wake Forest Men's Rugby Coach)
3. David Poplaski '09 (Unaffiliated)
4. Rusty Hedrick '07 (Triad RFC)
5. Adam Blincoe '07 (Unaffiliated)
6. Greg Wagner '07 (Duke Grads RFC)
7. Matt Gottbrecht '09 (Middlesex RFC)
8. Timo Kawira '09 (Unaffiliated)
9. Achilleas Patounas '06 (Princeton Athletic Club)
10. Tyler Eure '08 (Potomac Athletic Club)
11. Nelson Brunsting '06 (Wake Forest Women's Rugby Coach)
12. Patrick Kane '07 (Wake Forest Men's Rugby Coach)
13. Eric Jewett '06 (PCOM RFC)
14. Bryan Beach '99 (Atlanta Renegades)
15. David Buckingham '07 (New Orleans RFC; Archbishop Rummel HS Coach)
16. Andrew Gentles '05 (Unaffiliated)
17. Justin Edwards '06 (Middlesex U-19 Coach)
18. Brad Yates '07 (Unaffiliated)
19. Scott Adams '97 (Charlotte Barbarians)

After the first match concluded, the Wake first and second sides combined to take on the Charlotte Barbarians. Inexperienced and clearly fatigued from the previous match, Wake looked listless as it let the Barbarians jump out to a 40-0 halftime lead. Some key second half substitutions produced much better rugby from the Wake side and with 18 minutes gone in the second half Wake had narrowed the lead to 40-26. Another try from Wake brought the Demon Deacons within 9 at 40-31. They looked to close the gap even more with ten minutes remaining when a nice backline movement looked sure to produce another try. Instead, however, a mishandle by the Wake winger allowed the Barbarians the score a 90 meter try against the run of play and extend the lead to 47-31. Wake responded with another try with 5 minutes remaining to bring the score to 47-36, but it was too little, too late, and the Barbarians closed out the scoring with an unconverted try at the death to make the final 52-36.

Wake has next weekend off due to fall break, but will be back in action on Oct. 24 in Atlanta where they will take on Georgia Tech. The last time these two teams met was in the 2008 South Final Four, in an epic match that went to three overtimes and was eventually won by Wake on a try in sudden death. Georgia Tech's program has continued to improve since that time and the game will provide an excellent benchmark for where Wake stands as the spring season approaches.

Three Carolinas Rugby League Teams Nationally Ranked

The University of North Carolina is ranked #21 in Rugby Magazine's latest Division I rankings, while Appalachian State (#5) and East Carolina (#22) both appear in Rugby Magazine's Division II rankings.

http://www.rugbymag.com/news/rankings--standings/di-mens-college/men-di-college-top-25-oct-7-2009.aspx

http://www.rugbymag.com/news/rankings--standings/men-dii-college/men-dii-college-top-25-oct-6-2009.aspx

Carolinas Rugby League Website Launched

http://www.carolinasrugby.com/

Wake Outlasts Myrtle Beach in Scrimmage

Wake Forest bested the Myrtle Beach men's club 38-36 in a scrimmage today in Conway, SC. Myrtle Beach, fielding many players from the defending Division 3 Collegiate National Champions Coastal Carolina University, jumped all over Wake in the opening minutes. Myrtle Beach dominated the point of contact and looked to be the physically superior team as they ran out to a 19-0 lead with only 13 minutes gone in the match. Wake looked to be in for a long day, and things looked even bleaker when senior captain Mike Wills was forced to leave the field with an injury. But the Wake forwards began to match the physicality of the Myrtle Beach side and improved rucking set a good platform for the Demon Deacon backline. The result was three tries by freshman fullback Johnny McMurray in the second quarter of the match and when the halftime whistle blew, Wake was back in the game trailing 19-17.

Wake opened the second half where it left off the first, with the forwards rucking hard and allowing the backline clean ball with which to attack. Senior center David Sage went over under the posts, followed by a 50 meter scamper for a try by sophomore flyhalf Brendan Shea. With less than 15 minutes remaining in the contest, Wake held a commanding 31-19 lead. Myrtle Beach was not done, however, and as the Wake forwards tired from going toe to toe with the powerful opposing pack, Myrtle Beach ran on some fresh legs and big bodies and bullied over another try to bring the score to 31-24. Wake answered back with a fantastic backline movement around midfield which led to a try from sophomore wing Brandon Turner. The conversion by McMurray put the score at 38-24. Again however, Myrtle Beach exploited gaps left by a fatigued Wake defense and two late tries brought the score to 38-36. Myrtle Beach pressured again, but came up just short and the final whistle blew with Wake clinging to a two point advantage.

The scrimmage was another positive step for Wake in its 2009-2010 preseason, as it eventually fronted up against a very physical side and looked very strong in the set pieces and rucks. Senior flanker Trent Justice stood out on the day with his tireless work around the field at the breakdowns. Meanwhile, the Wake backline weathered the loss of its leader Mike Wills early on and made linebreak after linebreak for long-range tries. Wake will continue to work on its overall game plan and pattern of play as it prepares for a fun Homecoming weekend which will feature matches against the Wake Forest Rugby Alumni and the Charlotte Barbarians men's club. Kickoff for the Alumni Match will be at 12pm on Saturday at Poteat Field, followed immediately by the match with the Barbarians.

Wake Lineup vs Myrtle Beach
1. Nick Conte (So.)
2. Chris Ryan (So.)
3. Ken Forte (Sr.)
4. Christian Jewett (Sr.)
5. Ross Hilton (Sr.)
6. Justen Robinett (So.)
7. Trent Justice (Sr.)
8. Jeff Millar (So.)
9. Will Hank (So.)
10. Brendan Shea (So.)
11. Tyler Vanston (So.)
12. Mike Wills (Sr.)
13. David Sage (Sr.)
14. Brandon Turner (So.)
15. Johnny McMurray (Fr.)

16. Perry Salvagne (Sr.) (on @ 15 for Wills)
17. Devin Henry (Jr.) (on @ 60 for Conte)
18. Barrett Corrigan (Fr.) (on @ 70 for Ryan)
19. Jon Coates (Fr.)
20. James Jeffrey (Fr.)

Unavailable
Mike Duffy (Sr.)
Hunter Lostan (Jr.)
Matt Storck (Jr.)
Clay Robinson (Jr.)
Ben Cohen (So.)
Charlie Crockett (So.)
Drew Mehrmann (Fr.)
Tommy Hopkins (Fr.)
Michael Guju (Fr.)
Ty Pierce (Fr.)
Billy Caster (Fr.)

Tries: McMurray (3); Sage; Shea; Turner
Conversions: McMurray (4)

Homecoming Alumni Game Set for 12pm

The third annual Homecoming Alumni Match, pitting Wake Rugby Past vs. Wake Rugby Present has been set for 12pm on Saturday, October 10. The Alumni Match will be followed by Wake Forest squaring off against the Charlotte Barbarians Men's Club. The Wake Forest Rugby Alumni (also known as the Wake Rugby Legends) are riding a two game winning streak and have not surrendered a single point to the current side in those two games.

Wake Rugby Alumni confirmed for the game are:

Scott Adams '97
Bryan Beach '99
Andrew Gentles '05
Justin Edwards '06
Achilleas Patounas '06
Nelson Brunsting '06
Greg Wagner '07
Adam Blincoe '07
David Buckingham '07
Hien Ngyuen '07
Patrick Kane '07
Rusty Hedrick '07
Brad Yates '07
Tyler Eure '08
Matt Gottbrecht '09
Dave Poplaski '09
Barry Horewitch '09
Timo Kawira '09

Any other alums planning to be back for Homecoming and looking to lace up the boots, please contact Patrick Kane at pmkane78@aol.com.

Wake Adds Preseason Game With Lander

Wake Forest will play Lander University (SC) in the final game of the 2009-2010 preseason in Winston-Salem on November 14. Lander is a developing D3 team and Wake intends to use this game to get its newer players some much needed experience heading into the inaugural Carolinas Rugby League season.

Wake Continues Winning Preseason

Wake Forest defeated Furman 18-15 in sloppy conditions on Saturday. Sophomores Brandon Turner and Charlie Crockett scored tries for the Demon Deacons against a very young Paladin side. Wake continues its preseason on Saturday against the Myrtle Beach Rugby Club. Time and location to be announced.

Six Wake Players Named to All-Star Team

Six Wake Forest men's rugby players were named to the North Carolina Collegiate All-Star team that will compete in the South Collegiate All-Star Tournament on November 14 in Knoxville, TN. Seniors Mike Duffy (Hooker), Christian Jewett (Lock), Ross Hilton (Lock), Trent Justice (Flanker) and Mike Wills (Center) and sophomore Brandon Turner (Wing) were all selected after a two weekend tryout. Duffy, Jewett and Hilton are all making their second appearance on the squad, while Justice, Wills and Turner will be representing North Carolina for the first time.

2009 North Carolina Collegiate All-Star Team

Akerman, Randy (App State)
Bourgeois, Justin (ECU)
Burcal, Phil (NC State)
Calvo, Jeff (UNC – Charlotte)
Connor, Travis (App State)
Dawkins, Carson (ECU)
Delatorre, Frederico (UNC – Charlotte)
Duffy, Mike (Wake Forest)
Dugard, Jamie (UNC)
Epifanio, Justin (UNC)
Ezarsky, Brett (App State)
Felts, Michael (UNC – Charlotte)
Hilton, Ross (Wake Forest)
Hughston, Matt (ECU)
Jewett, Christian (Wake Forest)
Joseph, Iain (UNC – Wilmington)
Justice, Trent (Wake Forest)
Lee, Alex (UNC)
Llewellyn, Ben (App State)
MacLennan, Gregor (UNC)
Newcomer, Zach (App State)
Smith, Josh (App State)
Turner, Brandon (Wake Forest)
Wills, Mike (Wake Forest)
Zabor, Drew (App State)

Two Players Lost For Season to ACL Tears

Junior prop Matt Storck and sophomore flyhalf Ben Cohen will both miss the entirety of the 2009-2010 season after suffering torn ACLs. Both players will undergo surgery this fall and should be ready to return to play by the fall of 2010. Storck and Cohen were both members of the North Carolina College All-Star Team last year and started every game for the Demon Deacons in the spring.

Wake Opens Preseason With Win Over Wildcats

Wake Forest opened its 2009-2010 preseason with a 30-5 defeat over the visiting Davidson Wildcats. Freshman fullback Johnny McMurray scored two tries and was 4 for 6 with the boot for a personal tally of 20 points in his college rugby debut. Sophomore wing Will Hank and sophomore hooker Chris Ryan also touched down for the Demon Deacons. Freshmen Ty Pierce, Barrett Corrigan, Drew Mehrmann, Justen Robinett, Michael Guju, James Jeffrey, and Jon Coates all played key roles in the Wake victory.

Wake will continue its preseason next weekend with a match against perenniel Division III power Furman. The match will take place on Poteat Field with a 3:30pm kickoff.

Wake Lineup

1. Nick Conte (So.)
2. Chris Ryan (So.)
3. Ken Forte (Sr.)
4. Ty Pierce (Fr.)
5. Brendan Maaghul (So.)
6. Justen Robinett (Fr.)
7. Jeff Millar (So.)
8. Charlie Crockett (So.)
9. Drew Mehrmann (Fr.)
10. Brendan Shea (So.)
11. Kip Lewis (So.)
12. David Sage (Sr.)
13. Perry Salvagne (Sr.)
14. Will Hank (So.)
15. Johnny McMurray (Fr.)

16. Devin Henry (Jr.)
17. Michael Guju (Fr.)
18. Barrett Corrigan (Fr.)
19. James Jeffrey (Fr.)
20. Jon Coates (Fr.)
21. Clay Robinson (Jr.)

Wake Opens Preseason Play Against Davidson

Wake Forest men's rugby team will open its 2009-2010 preseason schedule against the Davidson Wildcats on Saturday at 1pm at Poteat Field.

Patounas Earns #9 Jersey for Princeton AC

Achilleas Patounas, Wake Rugby Class of '06, donned the #9 jersey yesterday for the Division II Princeton Athletic Club and led the team to a 50-18 victory over league foe Montclair. Patounas, who was Wake's starting scrumhalf from 2004-2006, joined PAC in the spring of 2007. At the time, Princeton had a veteran captain manning the scrumhalf position, meaning that if Patounas wanted to see the field, he would have to move to a new position. And so he did, spending two years playing anywhere the team needed him: fullback, wing, center, and even flanker. At times Patounas also got some time at #9, and this past spring, with PAC's longtime scrumhalf recovering from injury, Patounas stepped in at scrumhalf fulltime. No doubt having benefitted from his time at unfamiliar positions, Patounas was a much improved scrumhalf and led the team to some great results, including an undefeated performance in Montana's Maggotfest tournament in May. So it was that Patounas was given the nod at #9 for the fall season league opener against Montclair. He did not disappoint, marshalling Princeton to a blowout and scoring a try himself in the process. Princeton will be in action again next weekend against the Lansdowne Rugby Club out of New York City. Lansdowne also has a connection to Wake Forest Rugby, as the brother of Dave Poplaski, Wake Rugby Class of 2009, anchors the Lansdowne front row at prop.

Wake Welcomes Strong Freshman Class

The Wake Forest men's rugby team began practice this week, welcoming a very strong group of freshman to a team that returns most of its first side players from last season. A summary of the class of 2013 is below:

Drew Mehrmann is a four year player from Hong Kong. Drew was primarily a flanker for his high school team, but looks to factor in at a halfback position for Wake.

John McMurry comes to Wake from rugby powerhouse Gonzaga High School in Washington D.C. John played wing, scrumhalf, and flyhalf for a Gonzaga team that perennially finished in the top 10 in the country. He also was a starter on Gonzaga's nationally ranked soccer team. McMurry will play halfback and in the back three for Wake and will give the team the solid goalkicking presence that it was missing last year.

John Coates comes to Wake Forest from York, England, by way of Winston-Salem, where his father is a professor at Wake. John honed his rugby skills during his summers in England and is a try-scoring wing with impressive pace.

Chris Sanborn is a product of the relatively new rugby program at prestigious Delbarton High School in New Jersey. Chris will look to find time at wing and fullback for Wake.

Graham Rich is a rugby journeyman who has played in Azerbaijan, Dubai, and London. He has experience at fullback, wing, and center, and his versatility will make him extremely valuable to the Demon Deacon backline.

Ty Pierce joins the team with no rugby experience, but a very strong athletic background as a football standout for Highland Park in Dallas, TX. At 6' 3", 235 lbs, and extremely fit and skilled, Ty will challenge right away for a starting spot at prop or lock.

James Jeffrey is another freshman who joins the team with no prior rugby experience, but an impressive athletic background. James played baseball, ran track, and rowed crew in high school and will look to make the transition to rugby as an outside back.

Barrett Corrigan is a first year player, having transferred to Wake. Barrett has a wrestling background and solid build and will likely begin his rugby career in the front row.

Billy Caster is a former basketball player from Cleveland, OH whose size and skills make him well-suited for the second row. Billy is rehabbing a knee injury and looks to get on the field midway through the fall season.

At least four more Wake freshman arrived on campus with significant rugby experience but have yet to join the team. Charlie and Scott Frankel, who learned their rugby with the Second City Troop Club outside of Philadelphia, are taking the first semester to focus on their academics. Rob Kelly, a 3 year flyhalf from the Landon School in Maryland has chosen club soccer in favor of the rugby team. And Sal Scifo, a hooker with two year experience under his belt, is taking the fall away from rugby to rehab a knee injury.

The Wake coaching staff is extremely excited about this group of freshmen and looks forward to many of them making an immediate impact on the field.

Gottbrecht to Start for Middlesex Barbarians in New England League Opener

Matt Gottbrecht, Wake Rugby Class of 2009, will start at inside center on Saturday for the Middlesex Barbarians. Middlesex finished last season as the #3 men's club in USA Rugby Division 3, and was promoted to Division 2 for this season based on their success from 2007-2009. This weekend they begin their inaugural D2 campaign in the highly competitive NERFU league against the Boston area side Old Gold. Gottbrecht, who played everywhere from prop to lock, to flanker, to flyhalf to center in his career at Wake Forest, will don the #12 jersey for the Barbarians on Saturday. Said Middlesex head coach Josh Smith, "Matt is an incredibly versatile athlete who we expect to use at multiple positions this season. His game awareness, work-rate, and toughness fits in perfectly with our pattern of play and adding a player of his caliber to the team will certainly help our competitiveness as we transition to the challenges of NERFU Division 2.

Gottbrecht, as well as returning Wake seniors Christian Jewett and Michael Duffy, played this summer with the Middlesex Savages, a program designed by the Middlesex club to give Boston area college players an opportunity to hone their skills in a structured environment during the summer months. Duffy and Jewett are projected to be the core of the Wake forward pack this season and both have returned to campus much-improved due to their time with the Middlesex summer program.

Legge Joins Super League Team

Recently graduated scrumhalf Drew Legge has joined the Rugby Super League's Denver Barbarians and commenced training with the team last week. Legge, who was a North Carolina Collegiate All-Star and last year's Wake Forest team MVP, hopes to immediately challege for playing time on a squad that boasts numerous current and former U.S. Eagles. This marks the second consecutive year that a Wake grad has moved on to play for a team in the country's premiere rugby league. '07 grad Tyler Eure currently plays with Potomac Athletic Club and saw the field as a reserve in a number of Super League matches last spring.

Buckingham Helps Build Rugby League For At-Risk Youth

Recently David Buckingham, Wake Rugby Class of 2007, has been coaching and "mentoring" in a new Juvenile Justice Rugby League that he helped start. The league was created as an innovative response to the challenges faced by at-risk youth in the local community where Buckingham's home club, New Orleans RFC, plays. The league was founded this year by two NORFC Old Boys. "Rugby gives these young men a healthy outlet for their aggression, while at the same time builds the character and self esteem that can help with their positive development," says Tim Falcon, rugby coach and one of the founders of the new league. Buckingham says that ideally the program would have 60+ members who would go through a 2 week introduction to rugby. Then there would be a draft of sorts and the young men would be split into 7's teams. Each week, twice a week these teams would warm up and practice and then play 7's matches against each other. So far they don't have the numbers for that kind of set up and so this year they are looking to form one or two teams that will compete in a new Louisiana Under 19's 7's tournament as the culmination of their season on August 22nd. The restaurant and bar that Buckingham manages, The Rugby Pub (featured in this month's rugby magazine as one of the top rugby establishments in the country), held a fundraiser and raised over $700 for the league which will go to kit and equipment.

2010 Carolinas Rugby League Schedule Released

23rd January

NC State @UNC
ECU@Clemson
Wake Forest @South Carolina

30th January

South Carolina @ECU
UNC @Wake Forest
App State @NC State

6th February

App State @South Carolina
NC State @Clemson
Wake Forest @ECU

13th February

Clemson @Wake Forest
South Carolina @NC State
UNC @App State

20th February

UNC @Clemson
App State @ECU
NC State @Wake Forest

27th February

ECU @NC State
Clemson @App State
South Carolina @UNC

6th March

Wake Forest @App State
ECU @ UNC
Clemson @South Carolina

Wake Forest to Compete in Carolinas Rugby League

USA Rugby South has undergone a reorganization of its collegiate competition for the 2010 season. As part of this change, Wake Forest will now compete in the Carolinas Rugby League along with University of North Carolina, University of South Carolina, Clemson University, North Carolina State, East Carolina University, and Appalachian State University. UNC, USC, and Clemson will remain Division I teams for 2010, while East Carolina, NC State, App. State and Wake will remain Division II sides. East Carolina and App. State were offered the opportunity to move up to Division I for 2010 based on their large school size and recent success, but both declined the offer and chose to remain in Division II. All matches in the Carolinas Rugby League will count equally and the top finishing DI side will advance to the South DI college playoffs and the top 2 finishing DII sides will advance to the South DII college playoffs. Perhaps more importantly, however, the newly formed league will crown its own overall champion and will work to promote and capitalize on local collegiate rivalries to grow the sport of rugby in the Carolinas and beyond. The Carolinas Rugby League will also name an MVP and All-League team. The commissioner of the Carolinas Rugby League for 2010 will be Andy Richards, formerly the head coach at UNC and the current head coach of the North Carolina Rugby Union College All-Stars. Richards was the brainchild behind the creation of the Carolinas Rugby League and he has worked tirelessly towards the development of a plan for the league that would fit within the structure of the South collegiate competition. The 2010 Carolinas Rugby League schedule will be released in the coming weeks.

Brendan Shea to Play for North Carolina in U-19 All-Star Tournament

Wake Forest's Brendan Shea, a rising sophomore, will compete for North Carolina at the South U-19 All-Star Championships this weekend in Charlotte, NC. Shea is a loose forward who appeared in every first side match for Wake Forest during his freshman season. This marks the third time in five years that Wake Forest has had a player on the North Carolina U-19 All-Star team. In 2006 prop Matt Gottbrecht played for the team at the U-19 All-Star Challenge in Baltimore, MD. In 2007 prop Kenton Forte was selected for the team but was unavailable to play in the All-Star tournament.

Wake Forest to Host USA Rugby Coaching Clinic

The North Carolina Rugby Union and Wake Forest men's rugby team will be hosting a USA Rugby Coaching Clinic on the weekend of August 1-2 on the campus of Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, NC. Both USA Rugby coaching courses, Introducing Rugby and Developing Rugby Skills, will be offered if enough participants sign up for each. The clinic will run from approximately 9am-5pm both days. Lunch will be provided. Discounts apply for early registration, so go to http://www.usarugby.org/ and register as soon as possible. More information regarding the clinics can also be found on the USA Rugby website.

A block of rooms has been reserved at the Sundance Plaza Hotel, less than a mile from the Wake Forest campus. Rooms are $84.99/night. Reference Wake Forest Rugby when reserving your room. Rooms must be reserved by July 17.

http://www.clarionhotel.com/hotel-winstonsalem-north_carolina-NC486?&promo=gglocal

If you have any questions, please contact Mollie McCarthy at mmccarthy@usarugby.org or Patrick Kane at pat.kane@smithmoorelaw.com.

Wake Forest Players to Participate in Summer Rugby Program

A number of Wake Forest rugby players will be participating this summer in the Middlesex Savages Summer Rugby Program. The program, offered by the Middlesex Barbarians, a Boston-area men's club that will be playing for the Division 3 national championship next weekend in Glendale, CO, is designed to give college rugby players a structured summer training opportunity. The Savages will practice weekly under the watchful eyes of Middlesex coaches Josh Smith and Chip Auscavitch, and will play in various 7s and 10s tournaments throughout New England on the weekends. The Wake players taking part in the Savages program include rising seniors Mike Duffy and Christian Jewett.

For more information on the Middlesex Savages Summer Rugby Program, visit www.middlesexrfc.com.

Former Wake Rugger Leads U-19 Team to Championship

Justin Edwards, who played rugby for Wake Forest from 2004-2006, is now finding success in coaching. Edwards, a native of Massachusetts, is back home and is a forwards coach for the Middlesex Highlanders, the U-19 team where he learned his rugby while in high school. Recently the Highlanders won the New England U-19 Division 2C tournament championship, defeating Needham, Worcester, and Seacoast en route to the title. Middlesex fielded a very young squad this spring and entered the tournament not only winless on the season, but tryless as well. The team finally began to gel heading into the tournament, however, and ended a frustrating season on a spectacular note. Notably, Middlesex was presented their championship trophy by current New England RFU President Fred Roedel. Roedel was formerly the head men's rugby coach at Wake Forest.

Wake Announces Fall Schedule

9/12: Intrasquad Scrimmage
9/19: Davidson (H)
9/26: Furman (H)
10/3: Myrtle Beach Men's Club (Conway, SC)
10/10: Alumni Match; Belmont Men's Club (H)
10/17: Fall Break
10/24: Georgia Tech (Atlanta, GA)
10/31-11/1: North Carolina Rugby Union Tournament (Danville, VA)

Award Recipients Named at Year-End Banquet

The Wake Forest men's rugby team held their annual year-end awards banquet tonight in Benson University Center. The following players were honored for their on and off-field performance:

Drew Legge: MVP
Timo Kawira: Forward of the Year
Mike Wills: Back of the Year
Brendan Shea: Rookie of the Year
David Sage: Best Defender
Matt Gottbrecht: Comeback Player of the Year; Man of the Year
Dave Poplaski: Unsung Hero

The team also honored departing head coach Barry Horewitch. Horewitch is graduating from Wake Forest law school in three weeks and will be moving to Chicago to begin his legal career. Wake Forest took huge steps forward under Horewitch's guidance, especially in terms of forward play. Horewitch, a Midwest College All-Star hooker while at Indiana University, turned Wake's scrum and lineouts into some of the best in the South and his expertise will be sorely missed. Horewitch will continue on as a team consultant and will return to Winston-Salem to run periodic clinics next year.

Rugby Team Captures Two Championships

The Wake Forest men's rugby team brought home two championships this week, although neither had anything to do with rugby. On Wednesday night, the Wake Rugby intramural softball team won the Wake Forest men's intramural championship with a 9-7 defeat of a team comprised primarily of players on the Wake club baseball team. The team was led by the middle infield combo of Critter Commins and Drew Legge, the pitching of Matt Gottbrecht, the bat of Jeff Millar, and the heckling of Brendan Shea. Then on Thursday night, the rugby team defended their title of Wake Forest Club Sports Olympics Champions with a dominating overall performance in scooter hockey, water polo, and a bizarre relay race. After the rugby team humiliated all other participants in last year's Olympics, the organizers changed the events for this year in an attempt to level the playing field. It didn't work.

Wake Rugby Alumni Feature in Upcoming South Championships

Two recent Wake Forest Rugby alumni will participate in two different South Championships this weekend. Rusty Hedrick, '07, will be playing lock for Triad Rugby Club in the South Men's D3 championships in Columbus, GA. Hedrick, who never reached his full potential at Wake due to nagging injuries, has blossomed into a powerful tight five player with Triad. Meanwhile, fellow '07 grad David Buckingham will be coaching Archbishop Rummell HS (New Orleans, LA) at the South High School Championships in Murfreesboro, TN. Buckingham, who last year was a key player in the New Orleans Rugby Club's run to the National Round of 16, took up coaching this season as he rehabbed from major knee surgery.

In other Wake Rugby alumni news, '08 grad and captain Tyler Eure made his Super League debut with the Potomac Athletic Club this past weekend, logging 25 minutes at scrumhalf against defending Super League Champions NYAC.

Wake Rugby Elects Team Leadership for '09-'10 Academic Year

The following individuals have been elected to leadership positions within the Wake Forest Men's Rugby Team for the 2009-2010 academic year:

President: Michael Duffy
Vice-President: David Sage
Treasurer: Ben Cohen
Match Coordinator: Ross Hilton
Alumni Liasons: Christian Jewett and Trent Justice
Publicity Director: RI Smith

Wake Closes Out Season with Tournament Victory

Wake's Seniors After The Final

The Wake Forest Men's Rugby team finished its spring campaign by winning the College of Charleston tournament this weekend in Charleston, SC.

In the Demon Deacons opening match of the four team tournament, they defeated an undermanned and fatigued University of North Carolina side 19-7. The Tar Heels had played a league match against University of South Carolina the night before and were a far cry from the formidable UNC side that bested Wake in January. Wake dominated play for the entire first half, but were held scoreless until the very end of the half when freshman wing Ben Cohen dotted down between the posts. Junior fullback Perry Salvagne converted to give the Deacs a 7-0 lead at the break.

Wake opened the second half with another Cohen try, this one unconverted, and led 12-0. Carolina answered back with a converted try to narrow the gap to 12-7, but the Wake victory was sealed when junior center David Sage scored off a nice run of play. Senior Mike Wills converted to extend the lead to 19-7, which is how the match would finish.

In the tournament final Wake faced off against host team College of Charleston. Charleston had defeated North Carolina State 13-0 in their first match and were eager to prove themselves against the Demon Deacons. Charleston jumped out to an early 3-0 lead when their inside center slotted a drop goal off a scrum inside the Wake 22. Wake responded with a try from freshman flanker Brendan Shea and another from senior #8 Timo Kawira. Wills converted one of the two tries for a 12-3 lead. Charleston got a penalty goal shortly before the midway whistle to make it 12-6 at the break.

The opening stages of the second half were controlled by Charleston, but two missed penalty goals and a near-try by the Charleston winger before he stepped into touch kept the score at 12-6. With time winding down, Wake was able to regroup and Shea and Kawira once again took control, each scoring between the posts. Wills converted both tries and Wake emerged 26-6 victors.

Match with Western Carolina Postponed

Due to the forecast of heavy rains and severe thunderstorms for tomorrow afternoon, Wake Forest's scheduled match with Western Carolina has been postponed. The teams are working to reschedule the match for next Saturday, April 4.

Wake's Conference Foes Advance to Final Four

Appalachian State and East Carolina each won their South D2 Quarterfinal match comfortably today and will advance to the South Final Four next weekend in Tuscaloosa, AL. Appalachian St. hosted University of Alabama and won 26-3, while East Carolina played Ole Miss and came away 23-0 winners. Appalachian St. will play University of South Florida in one semifinal next Saturday and East Carolina will face off against Georgia Tech. USF defeated Kennesaw St. 29-5 earlier today to advance to the Final Four and Georgia Tech narrowly escaped Florida Atlantic 12-8.

This marks the second consecutive year that two teams from the North Carolina D2 Conference have advanced to the Final Four. Last year Wake and ECU battled in the South Championship Game, with ECU winning 19-10. This year, with the expansion of the USA Rugby D2 playoffs from 8 teams to 16 teams, both semifinal winners will move on to the national playoffs in Florida.

Wake Prepares for Future with Three Week Slate

Having failed to qualify for the USA Rugby South playoffs for the first time in four years, Wake Forest now turns its focus to the future. Beginning on March 28, Wake will play three consecutive weekends of rugby to close out its spring season. The Demon Deacons will host Western Carolina in Winston-Salem on Saturday, March 28. They will follow up that match by entering multiple sides in the UNC 7s tournament in Chapel Hill on Friday, April 3. Wake hopes to enter three sides in this event: a freshman side, a sophomore/junior side, and a senior side. Wake will conclude the season on April 11 in Charleston, SC where they will play in a one-day tournament hosted by College of Charleston. The teams participating in that tournament are University of North Carolina, North Carolina State, Wake Forest, and College of Charleston.

Wake Forest Recruit Johnny McMurray at Center of High School Showdown

From eRugbyNews.com

March 18, 2009 - On Sunday, March 15th Xavier High School of New York City (#2 in the High School Rugger preseason rankings) faced off against Jesuit rival Gonzaga College High School (#7 in the High School Rugger preseason rankings) in Washington, DC. The match was a friendly rematch of Xavier narrow 22-20 victory over Gonzaga in last year’s 5th/6th place match at the High School National Tournament.

Xavier drew first blood at 6 minutes when they secured a lineout at their own 10m line and center Seamus Kelly broke found a gap, broke the Gonzaga line and beat the last two defenders to score under the posts. Flyhalf, John Gearity added the conversion. Rainy weather was certainly a factor in the match as neither team was able to find the goal line for the rest of the first half. Nevertheless, the half saw plenty of action. Gonzaga played to the conditions better as #10 Gabe Cunningham continued to play the ball into the Xavier half with booming kicks at every opportunity. Xavier’s handling miscues and ill-discipline at the breakdown and scrum gave Gonzaga three penalty kicks at goal in the first half and Gonzaga’s wing Johnny McMurray converted two penalties from near the Xavier 22 meter line to keep the match close and enter the second half with a mere one-point deficit, 7-6.

Gonzaga continued to dominate the scoring when, five minutes into the second half, they won their own lineout at midfield and sent the ball to outside center Matias Cima who broke the line and floated a nice pass over one Xavier defender to wing David Penberthy. Penberthy beat his opposite and scored near the posts. McMurray added the conversion and Gonzaga moved out to a 13-7 lead.

Xavier, however, refused to fold under the consistent pressure of Gonzaga’s fluid back attack and sharp kicking game and began to turn the match to their advantage. A Gonzaga penalty at a scrum 5 meters from the Gonzaga goal line allowed Xavier’s tighthead prop Reynaldo Riboul to crash over the line and take back the lead with the conversion by John Gearity, 14-13. From that point on, good handling and fast-paced 15-man rugby allowed Xavier to dominate both territory and scoring.

After a rambling run, 8-man Sean Carley offloaded from a tackle ten meters away from goal and scrumhalf Tom O’Neill carried the ball over for try in corner, 19-13. Moments later, a long run by fullback Greg Voigt was followed by a quick ruck and a driving mini-maul pushed Seamus Kelly over the line for a try, 24-13.

Kelly found paydirt once again when he received a short pass from Gearity after a 5-meter scrum and broke three tackles to score under the post and extend Xavier’s lead to 16 points, 29-13. Xavier’s last score came with only five minutes left in the match when, at lineout at midfield, Gearity hit prop Reynaldo Riboul who broke two tackles beat the rest of the Gonzaga defense to the corner to round out Xavier’s scoring, 34-13. Gonzaga, on the other hand, continued to play hard, skilled and disciplined rugby and their efforts were rewarded with a try in the last minute of the match. From a lineout at midfield, Gonzaga recycled a quick ruck and sent the ball down the left wing where sharp passing through three sets of hands enabled Anthony Oliverio to break through a gap and score Gonzaga’s second try. McMurray converted the try and the match ended with a hard-fought Xavier victory, 34-20.

The match was a preseason friendly and both teams move on to their league schedules and challenging tours. Gonzaga heads south to tour Argentina on Thursday before returning for the bulk of their Potomac RFU schedule. Xavier faces a huge league match with Greenwich High School (#8 in the High School Rugger preseason rankings) on April 1 before heading to California to play defending National High School Champions Jesuit High School of Sacramento, 2004 Tier B National Champions Elsie Allen High School, and San Francisco Golden Gate (#7 U19 club in the High School Rugger preseason rankings).

Highlanders the Class of High School Showcase

The Highlanders, from Chapel Hill, NC, dominated play at the 2nd Annual Wake Forest High School Rugby Showcase. Playing three matches on a cold, wet and miserable Saturday afternoon, the Highlanders notched victories over East Mecklenburg A and Unionville A, and came out on top of a split match with the East Meck and Unionville B-sides. The Highlanders scored over 100 points on the day while keeping their opponents off the scoreboard and showed why they are the class of the North Carolina U-19 rugby scene.

The weather caused cancellations of a scheduled Saturday afternoon match between Unionville and Triad Youth Rugby and a Sunday morning match between Unionville and East Meck.

Wake Forest Rugby thanks all the teams for attending this year's showcase and hopes that all four teams will be back next year.

Wake Celebrates Seniors With Win Over UNC-G

Wake Forest defeated UNC-Greensboro 52-0 on its annual "senior day." Wake's eight seniors were honored prior to the match and promptly went out and dominated play. Seniors Mike Wills, Matt Gottbrecht, Timo Kawira, and David Poplaski all scored tries, with Wills scoring two tries and also converting six of Wake's eight tries on the day. Junior Ken Forte, sophomore Hunter Lostan, and freshman Tyler Vanston also touched down for the Demon Deacons.

Wake led 38-0 at the half, and although UNC-G picked up their level of play considerably in the second stanza, they still were unable to put any points on the board due to a determined Demon Deacon defense and progressively worsening field conditions. The match was ended prematurely when Wake freshman flyhalf Tom Gibson suffered a neck injury and needed to be taken from the field in an ambulance for precaution. Gibson was checked out at the local hospital and walked out later that afternoon with a clean bill of health.

Despite the lopsided scoreline, UNC-Greensboro showed that it is a program on the rise under first year head coach Jeremy Linne. With the recent success of Guilford College as well, the Triad is on its way to establishing itself as a hotbed of collegiate rugby in North Carolina.



Wake Lineup vs. UNC-Greensboro

1. Matt Storck 2. Mike Duffy (Chris Ryan @ 70) 3. Kenton Forte (Devin Henry @ 65) 4. Christian Jewett 5. Ross Hilton (Charlie Crockett @ 45) 6. David Poplaski (Hunter Lostan @ 55) 7. Matt Gottbrecht (Jeff Millar @ 65) 8. Timo Kawira (Brendan Shea @ 50) 9. Drew Legge (Will Hank @ 70) 10. Tom Gibson 11. Tyler Vanston (Ben Cohen @40) 12. Mike Wills (Kip Lewis @ 70) 13. David Sage 14. Andy Schneider (Rob Musci @ 70) 15. Critter Commins (Perry Salvagne @ 65)

Wake Forest Senior Day and High School Rugby Showcase

This weekend Wake Forest will host its second annual High School Rugby Showcase, featuring 4 high school rugby programs. The participating teams are Highlanders-Chapel Hill, Triad Youth Rugby, Unionville High School and East Mecklenburg High School. In last year's inaugural event, East Meck lost to a very strong Unionville side in the tournament championship. This year's format will be different, abandoning the tournament format and instead focusing and getting the teams as much rugby as possible and desired over the weekend. The schedule for the weekend is as follows:

Saturday

10:00 a.m. -- Highlanders-Chapel Hill B vs. Unionville B

11:15 a.m. -- Highlanders-Chapel Hill A vs. East Meck A

12:30 p.m. -- Wake Forest vs. UNC-Greensboro

2:30 p.m. -- Unionville A vs. Highlanders-Chapel Hill A

3:45 p.m. -- Unionville B vs. Triad

Sunday

9:00am: Clinic with East Meck and Unionville

10:00am: East Meck vs. Unionville

The featured match of the day on Saturday will be between Wake Forest and UNC-Greensboro. Wake Forest will be honoring its senior class prior to the match. The senior class includes Matt Gottbrecht, Drew Legge, Critter Commins, Mike Wills, David Poplaski, Timo Kawira, Andy Schneider, and David Taveira. This class has been immeasurably instrumental in the success of the team over the past four years and they will all be greatly missed when they graduate in May.

Wake Misses Out on Playoffs

Appalachian State defeated Wake Forest 40-11 on Saturday in Charlotte, knocking the Demon Deacons to third place in the conference and leaving them out of the South playoffs for the first time in four years.

Appalachian State started the match by capitalizing on two key miscues by Wake, a knock-on from the opening kickoff and a ball kicked directly into touch from the base of a scrum. The Mountaineers turned both mistakes into converted tries and ten minutes in they led 14-0. Wake settled down and the remainder of the first half was played in ASU's end of the field. But impressive defense from the Mountaineers loose forwards and centers kept Wake out of the tryzone and limited the Demon Deaocns to two penaly goals from wing Perry Salvagne. Trailing 14-6 at the half, the momentum was clearly with Wake Forest.

The second half started the same as the first, with Appalachian jumping on untimely Wake errors and running in two more quick tries to extend their lead to 26-6. Wake Forest regrouped and a nice run of play resulted in a try by Kenton Forte to cut the lead to 26-11 with 15 minutes to play. But Appalachian State continued the pressure and ran in two more converted tries to finish out the game and clinch the #1 seed from the conference to the South playoffs.

Meanwhile, in Raleigh, East Carolina rebounded from their loss to ASU last week with a convincing 53-0 win over North Carolina State to secure the #2 seed to the playoffs.

Wake Forest will be in action next weekend against UNC-Greensboro. The match will be the featured game during the Wake Forest High School Rugby Showcase and Wake Forest will be honoring its departing seniors prior to the match. Kickoff will be at 1pm.

Appalachian State 40 Wake Forest 11

Appalachian State jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first ten minutes of the match and never looked back, running away 40-11 winners over Wake Forest. With East Carolina's 53-0 defeat of North Carolina State, Wake now finds itself out of the South playoffs for the first time in four years. Full match report to follow.

Appalachian State Match Moved to Charlotte

This weekend's league match between Wake Forest and league-leading Appalachian State has been moved to the Charlotte Rugby Club's Skilbeck Rugby Complex at 2pm on Saturday. Due to University policies regarding weather and field usage, Appalachian State did not have a rugby field available for this weekend and the match would have to have been played on a football field. Wake offered to reschedule the match for next weekend on the league's set-aside makeup date, but the Mountineers indicated that they did not foresee the University allowing them on their rugby field next weekend either. The teams thus agreed to move the match this weekend to a neutral location and the Charlotte Rugby Club graciously stepped up to host.

Appalachian State has been the talk of the South collegiate rugby community over the past week after their 19-10 defeat of then-#4 ranked East Carolina. The Mountaineers, led by flanker Matt Espy, flyhalf Ben Llewellyn and #8 Ryan Murphy, have run through all in their way this spring en route to amassing a perfect 7-0 record. They come into this match as the clear favorite, ranked #6 in the country by eRugbyNews.com and one of the new frontrunners to be in the South D2 Final Four at the end of March.

For its part, Wake will arrive in Charlotte shorthanded, as flanker Trenton Justice will be out another week after suffering a concussion against East Carolina and freshman wing Brandon Turner will likely miss the match with a quad injury.

The match is a must win for Wake Forest, who will be eliminated from the playoffs with a loss against ASU and a win by East Carolina over North Carolina State.

Wake Forest Rolls Over Young Wolfpack Side

Wake Forest rebounded from its defeat last weekend to East Carolina with a 53-7 victory over an inexperienced North Carolina State. Wake retained possession for much of the opening 10 minutes of the match and were rewarded with unconverted tries from sophomore flanker Hunter Lostan and freshman wing Ben Cohen for a 10-0 advantage. Wake extended its lead to 17-0 midway through the half when junior prop Kenton Forte went over in the corner and junior wing Perry Salvagne converted. Forte scored again moments later when he found himself in support of lock Christian Jewett who broke an impressive openfield run. Salvagne was again good on the conversion and the lead was 24-0. Scrumhalf and captain Drew Legge finished out the first half scoring with a long try-scoring run down the sideline which Salvagne converted for a 31-0 Wake advantage at the break.

The second half started much as the first half had ended. After NC State's restart failed to go 10 meters, Wake executed a nifty play off the midfield scrum resulting in a try under the posts for replacement winger Brandon Turner. Salvagne's conversion moved the score to 38-0 and Wake seemed to have the game in hand. The Wolfpack fought back, however, and for the next 20 minutes dictated much of the play. A converted try from the State flyhalf made it 38-7, but Wake responded with three unconverted tries from #8 Timo Kawira, Legge, and prop David Poplaski to close out the match.

Wake now moves to 1-1 in conference play and will face Appalachian State next weekend in its final league match. App. State sits atop the conference at 2-0 after they upset East Carolina on Saturday 19-10. A victory for Wake in Boone on Saturday will clinch a playoff berth for the Demon Deacons, while a loss will likely mean the end of the road.

Wake vs NC State
1. David Polaski 2. Michael Duffy 3. Kenton Forte (Devin Henry @ 70) 4. Christian Jewett 5. Ross Hilton 6. Hunter Lostan (Charlie Crockett @ 15) 7. Brendan Shea 8. Timo Kawira 9. Drew Legge 10. Tom Gibson 11. Perry Salvagne 12. Mike Wills 13. David Sage (Matt Gottbrecht @ 60) 14. Ben Cohen (Brandon Turner @ 40) 15. Critter Commins

In the second side match, NC State defeated Wake Forest 25-10. Wake lone try was scored by senior Matt Gottbrecht and converted by freshman Will Hank. Freshman Rob Musci rounded out the Wake scoring with a penalty goal.

Wake Forest 53 North Carolina State 7

Scrumhalf Drew Legge and prop Kenton Forte each had a brace of tries as the Demon Deacons touched down nine tries on the day and defeated North Carolina State 53-7. Full report to follow soon.

ECU Continues Dominace Over Wake

On a perfect day for rugby in Greenville, North Carolina, the #4 nationally ranked East Carolina Pirates defeated #8 Wake Forest 30-25 in a South D2 league match. The victory marked ECU's 6th straight defeat of the Demon Deacons.

The match started with Wake Forest in full control and the Demon Deacons went up 5-0 off a try from senior Timo Kawira off a pick from the base of scrum inside the ECU 22. ECU narrowed the gap moments later with a penalty goal from fullback Robert Lee, but Wake's forwards answered with a nicely worked try from junior prop Ken Forte. ECU responded with a try from winger Drew Griffin in the corner and the difficult sideline conversion was slotted by Lee to even the score at 10 apiece. The Pirates' speedy backline continued to cause Wake problems and a linebreak at midfield resulted in a try between the posts and a 17-10 ECU advantage. Another Lee penalty goal moved the ECU lead to 20-10 and the Pirates seemed in full control. Shortly before the half, however, the momentum changed as ECU center Connor Duke was yellow-carded for a spear tackle that knocked Wake flanker Trenton Justice from the match with a concussion. Junior wing Perry Salvagne hit the penalty and the teams went into the break with ECU up 20-13.

The second half started with another ECU try as a Pirate flanker scooped up a ball that popped out of a sideline ruck near midfield and beat two Wake defenders to extend the ECU lead. Lee was again good on the conversion and the Pirates were up 27-13. Wake responded with a try from freshman flanker Brendan Shea and Salvagne's conversion made the score 27-20. Lee continued his excellent day with the boot slotting another penalty goal to put ECU up 30-20. With 15 minutes remaining Wake moved within a try as a nice backline movement put freshman wing Ben Cohen over in the corner. The remainder of the match saw Wake pressure ECU repeatedly, but strong Pirate defense kept the Demon Deacons from the tryzone. With seconds remaining Wake freshman winger Brandon Turner found some space near midfield and looked to be away for a game-tying score but lost the ball forward and ECU held on for the victory.

Wake Lineup vs. ECU

1. Matt Storck 2. Mike Duffy 3. Ken Forte 4. Brendan Shea 5. Ross Hilton 6. Hunter Lostan 7. Trent Justice (Christian Jewett @ 38) 8. Timo Kawira 9. Drew Legge 10. Tom Gibson 11. Ben Cohen (Brandon Turner @ 75) 12. Matt Gottbrecht 13. David Sage 14. Perry Salvagne 15. Critter Commins

In the Second Side match ECU came away victorious 26-5.

Wake Forest is next in action on Saturday in Winston-Salem against North Carolina State. NC State lost to Appalachian State 18-0 in Raleigh on Saturday in the both team's league opener.

ECU 30 Wake Forest 25

Wake outscored the Pirates 4 tries to 3, but solid goalkicking from fullback Robert Lee (3 conversions, 3 penalites) carried the #4 ranked Pirates to victory. Full match report to follow.

Results of Wake Rugby Fundraising Raffle

The results of the 2008-2009 Wake Forest Rugby Fundraising Raffle are in and the winners are posted below. The raffle raised close to $2500 to help offset the team's operating expenses and the team thanks everyone who gave their support by purchasing tickets. Winners will be contacted by email to arrange for prize delivery.

*First Prize ($500):* Kathy Gottbrecht

*Second Prize ($250):* Jack Vanston

*Third Prize ($100):* David Booth

*Fourth Prize ($25):* Doug Jones, Liz Gottbrecht, Tori Vanston, Conor Shea, Brad Hawes, Pam Stickles

*Fifth Prize (Golf Shirt):* Greg Wagner, Jake Compton, Thomas Duffy, Claire Broomfield, Carol von Drehlie, Holly Grant, Veda Elliott, Anna Cheluget, Gail Poplaski, Michele Wills, Catherine Coggeshall, Andrew Gentles

*Sixth Prize (T-Shirt):* Bailey King, Sara Ratcliff, Joyce Shea, Geoff Gottbrecht, Phil Conway, Ken Mateo, David Buckingham, Russell Larson, Jen Shields, Emily Vaughn, Jessica DeMart, Dauby Roife, Shannon Dunn, Mindi Steinhardt, Rachel Price, Valerie Thorpp, John Keough, Tom Shea, Marta Lewis, Aimee Davis

UNC 18 Wake Forest 3

The University of North Carolina handed Wake Forest a convincing 18-3 defeat in Winston-Salem, NC earlier today. The teams looked evenly-match in the first half, and indeed changed sides with the score deadlocked at 3. But the second half was a different story, as Carolina dominated possession and territory and ran in two tries. The Tar Heels had their way with the Demon Deacons at the point of tackle, causing numerous turnovers and penalties. Carolina's standout flanker Alex Lee did much of the damage himself, poaching ball at every opportunity and scoring a walk-in try off a pick from the base of the scrum.

Wake Lineup
1. Matt Storck 2. Dave Poplaski (Hunter Lostan @ 30) 3. Kenton Forte 4. Brendan Shea (Christian Jewett @ 55) 5. Ross Hilton 6. Mike Duffy 7. Trenton Justice 8. Timo Kawira 9. Drew Legge 10. Tom Gibson 11. Rob Musci (Matt Gottbrecht @ 40) 12. David Sage 13. Perry Salvagne 14. Ben Cohen 15. Critter Commins

In the second side match, Wake Forest, with a number of first side players seeing double duty, ran out 44-0 winners over a very inexperienced UNC second side.

Wake Forest begins league play next Saturday in Greenville, NC where they will take on the East Carolina Pirates, ranked #5 in the nation in Division II by eRugbyNews.com.

Wake Forest vs. North Carolina

Three weeks after the epic showdown between their highly-ranked basketball teams, the Wake Forest and University of North Carolina men's rugby teams face off on Saturday at 1pm on Poteat Field. Carolina and Wake both showed well at the ACI tournament two weeks ago in Tallahassee and Saturday's match should be a good one. Both teams will use the match as a warmup for their league seasons, which kick off next weekend. UNC is lead by a very young and very talented backline, with Scottish freshmen flyhalf Gregor MacLennan running the show. Their forwards are anchored by sophomore flanker Alex Lee and senior prop and captain Jackson Paterno. Wake also boasts a young backline, with three freshman expected to start on Saturday against the Tar Heels.

Prior to the main event on Saturday, the Chapel Hill Highlanders and Triad Youth Rugby Club will play a U-19 match.

Wake goes 4-0 at Atlantic Coast Invitational

Wake finished their weekend in Tallahassee, FL at the 2009 ACI with a 4-0 record, but due to a unique tournament format only finished in 5th place. Wake opened the weekend with a 13-10 win over Boston College and followed that up with a 27-0 victory over Georgia Tech and a 29-3 win over North Carolina State. But because the 6-team tournament used a cross-pool system where the teams in one pool didn't play each other but rather played each of the three teams in the opposite pool, Wake was left out of the semifinals because they finished with a worse point differential than UNC and Florida State, the other teams in their pool.

That meant that Wake played for 5th place on Sunday morning in a rematch against Georgia Tech. The Demon Deacons once again ran out winners 24-10 to finish the tournament unbeaten. The 5th place match was highlighted by two tries from senior outside center Matt Gottbrecht, who returned to the field for the first time after a two year hiatus due to injury.

Wake next faces University of North Carolina at home on January 31. UNC lost in the ACI championship game 20-0 to Boston College after defeating Florida State 18-0 in the semifinals.

Full details of the 2009 ACI can be found at http://www.acirugby.com/.

Above Image Courtesy of Marshall Sports Media.

Wake Hosts Youth Clinic With Triad Youth Rugby

The Wake Forest Men's Rugby team took time out of its preseason mini-camp on Sunday afternoon to run a clinic with members of the Triad Youth Rugby Club. Approximately 25 U-15 and U-19 players took part in the clinic, which focused on basic passing, rucking, backline and set piece skills. The TYRA teams will get a chance to show their stuff on the field on January 31, as they play curtain-raiser matches at Wake Forest prior to the featured match between Wake Forest and the University of North Carolina.