Wake Ends Season on Winning Note

Wake Forest finished what was a frustrating season on a high note on Friday night, defeating Duke 43-7 in Durham. After withstanding early pressure from the Blue Devils off the opening kickoff, Wake drew first blood with a try between the posts from sophomore flanker Justen Robinett. Senior fullback Perry Salvagne's conversion made the score 7-0. The Demon Deacon forwards dominated the breakdown and the set pieces, and from a maul driven about 30 meters to the Duke goalline, Christian Jewett went over to make the score 12-0. Duke got on the scoresheet minutes later when their dangerous fullback gathered in an attempted chip kick from Wake's flyhalf and sped around and outside the Wake Forest defense to bring the Blue Devils within five at 12-7. But Wake closed the half with a tremendous individual try-scoring effort from senior center David Sage and Salvagne's conversion made it 19-7 at the break.

The second half started with Wake winning a scrum against the head and Robinett picking from the base and going 30 meters for his second try of the night. Sophomore fullback Will Hank converted to extend Wake's lead to 26-7. From there out it was all Wake Forest as a Duke pack that was missing a number of regulars due to injury and unavailability had trouble competing in the scrum and had no answer for the Demon Deacons' maul. The Wake forwards continually set the platform and allowed the backs to run into space, with sophomore flyhalf Brendan Shea, sophomore wing Tyler Vanston, and freshman wing Rob Kelly all touching down. Hank converted one of the tries to bring the final tally to 43-7.

Friday night's victory marks the last collegiate game for seniors Mike Duffy, Ken Forte, Christian Jewett, David Sage, Trent Justice, Perry Salvagne, and Gabe Huertas del Pino. Wake Forest rugby owes a huge debt of gratitude to this graduating class as they served as the foundation for Wake to move from a Division 3 team to one that will next year be a Division 1 team competing in the Atlantic Coast Rugby League. Duffy and Forte were four year starters in the front row, while Jewett, Sage, Justice and Salvagne all have been mainstays in the Demon Deacons lineup for the past three years.

While the departure of these seniors will leave holes in the team, the future looks very bright for Wake Forest. Freshman center Matt Tucker was extremely impressive on Friday night in his first action with the first team, garnering man of the match honors. Tucker will be counted on to solidify a backline next year that will be bolstered by the return of sophomores Ben Cohen and Brandon Turner from injury. The forwards, meanwhile, will be led by North Carolina Rugby Union All-Star Ross Hilton who will return to Wake for grad school and his final year of eligibility. Hilton will be joined by fellow All-Star Matt Storck who missed the entirety of the 2009-2010 season due to injury and 8-man Hunter Lostan who had a breakout year at the base of the scrum. The return of Cohen to the backline means that Brendan Shea, who performed admirably at #10 this season, can move back to flanker, adding more power and skill to the Wake forwards. Additionally, Wake hopes to soon announce a star-studded recruiting class that will help the Demon Deacons challenge for the inaugural Atlantic Coast Rugby League title in 2011.

Wake Lineup vs Duke

1. Devin Henry, Jr. (Nick Conte, So. @ 40)
2. Jeff Millar, So. (Chris Ryan, So. @ 65)
3. Ken Forte, Sr. (Matt Layden, So. @ 65)
4. Ross Hilton, Sr.
5. Christian Jewett, Sr.
6. Ty Pierce, Fr. (Sal Scifo, Fr. @ 60
7. Justen Robinett, So. (Drew Mehrmann, Fr. @ 63)
8. Trent Justice, So.
9. Mike Duffy, Sr.
10. Brendan Shea, So.
11. Barrett Corrigan, Fr. (Tyler Vanston, So. @ 40; John Borkowski, Fr. @ 65)
12. Matt Tucker, Fr.
13. David Sage, Sr.
14. Gabe Huertas del Pino, Sr. (Rob Kelly, Fr. @ 40)
15. Perry Salvagne, Sr. (Will Hank, So. @ 40)

Tries:
Robinett (2), Jewett, Sage, Shea, Vanston, Kelly

Conversions:
Salvagne (2), Hank (2)

Wake Forest to Take On Duke in Friday Night Exhibition

Wake Forest will travel to Durham on Friday evening to play Duke in a post-season exhibition game. The two teams last faced each other in February of 2007, when they played to a 16-16 tie at Wake Forest. Kickoff is set for 7:30pm.

Carolinas Rugby League Teams Advance in South Playoffs

North Carolina State and Appalachian State advanced to the semifinals of the USA Rugby South Division 2 Collegiate Competition on Saturday, marking the third consecutive year that two teams from Wake Forest's league have reached the final four of the D2 competition. North Carolina State travelled to Atlanta and beat Ole Miss from the SEC 43-22. Meanwhile, App. St. travelled to Vanderbilt, another SEC foe, and won 22-3. The Wolfpack and Mountaineers will now play next weekend in Murfreesboro, TN to determine who will advance to the USA Rugby Division 2 playoffs.

In 2008 Wake Forest and East Carolina advanced to the South Final Four and in 2009 East Carolina and Appalachian State were among the last four teams standing.

Wake Rugby to Join Atlantic Coast Rugby League

With more shakeups on tap in the collegiate rugby landscape, Wake Forest will become a part of the Atlantic Coast Rugby League next year. See the new league's inaugural press release at American Rugby News by clicking the link below.

http://www.americanrugbynews.com/artman/publish/college/New_Atlantic_Coast_League.shtml

Carolinas Rugby League Season Ends With Loss to Appalachian St.

For the second consecutive year, Wake Forest met Appalachian St. in the final game of the regular season with a playoff berth on the line. And for the second consecutive year, it was the Mountaineers who grabbed the playoff berth, defeated the Demon Deacons 31-10. Wake Forest had the run of play in the first half, utilizing a game plan designed to keep the ball away from the dangerous ASU backline. Strong forward play eventually led to a try from scrumhalf Mike Duffy, but the easy conversion was missed and Wake was in front 5-0. Appalachian St. responded with a penalty goal to bring the score to 5-3, and then the tide turned when 8-man Hunter Lostan was yellow-carded with 7 minutes left in the half for repeated infringements in the tackle. Appalachian St. jumped on the man advantage and scored a converted try to go up 10-5 at the break. The Mountaineers continued to press their advantage at the start of the second half, venturing deep into Wake territory and putting another 7 points on the board shortly after Lostan was released from the bin. Then an ill-adivsed pass from lock Christian Jewett inside the 22 went to ground and was scooped up by an App. St. player who walked in for an easy try. With the score 24-5, the result was no longer in doubt. Wake Forest pressured some in the waning minutes, aided by 3 yellow cards to Appalachain St. for malicious tackles, but lazy play by wing Tyler Vanston allowed the Mountaineers to score a try while down two men and stretch the lead to 31-5. A late unconverted try by Wake brought the final scoreline to 31-10. Appalachian St. (3-3) will now advance to the South Division 2 quarterfinals against Vanderbilt, while Wake concludes the inaugural Carolinas Rugby League season at 2-4 and in 5th place.

Wake Lineup vs Appalachian St.

1. Nick Conte, So.
2. Jeff Millar, So.
3. Ken Forte, Sr.
4. Ross Hilton, Sr.
5. Christian Jewett, Sr.
6. Kip Lewis, So.
7. Trent Justice, Sr. (Devin Henry, Jr. @ 48)
8. Hunter Lostan, Jr.
9. Mike Duffy, Sr. (Rob Kelly, Fr. @ 72)
10. Brendan Shea, So.
11. Will Hank, So.
12. David Sage, Sr.
13. Perry Salvagne, Sr.
14. Tyler Vanston, So. (Gabe Huertas Del Pino, Sr. @ 65)
15. John McMurray, Fr.

Tries: Duffy, Lostan

Game Against Appalachian St. Moved to Wake Forest

With Appalachian St. once again forced to leave home because of field availability issues, the game between Wake Forest and ASU has been moved to Wake Forest. ASU originally thought they had secured the use of Charlotte RFC's facility for the match, but those arrangements fell through late in the week, leaving no other option than to play the game at Wake. This game is the Carolinas Rugby League regular season finale for both teams; the winner will advance to the playoffs, while the loser's competitive season will come to a close. Kickoff is set for 10am on Poteat Field.

DC-Area Teams Dominate Showcase

Both Gonzaga and Hyde won both of their matches this weekend at the 3rd Annual Wake Forest High School Rugby Showcase. Gonzaga defeated East Chapel Hill on Saturday and West Shore United on Sunday, with Hyde doing the same in the reverse order - beating West Shore United on Saturday and East Chapel Hill on Sunday. The level of rugby exhibited by the teams attending this year's was exceptional, with the highlight of the weekend being the early Sunday morning game between Hyde and East Chapel Hill. The game was an exciting back and forth affair, with Hyde's dynamic backline ultimately leading its team to a 36-29 victory over a talented and well-organized Highlanders squad. Wake Forest rugby looks forward to hopefully having all four teams return for next year's event.