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.