Wake Forest Adds New Coach for Spring Season

Wake Forest men's rugby has announced that Rob Duryea has joined the team as an assistant coach. Duryea, a first year MBA student at Wake, has a close to 20 year history in rugby. He began playing when joining the Marines after graduating from the United States Naval Academy where he was a boxer. Duryea has played for multiple military sides since 1992 and was selected to the All-Marine team while stationed at Quantico in the mid-2000s. Duryea, a wing and fullback during his playing career, will be working primarily with the backline. Additionally, Duryea's wife, Natalie, is a professional dietitian and will be assisting the team with proper nutrition plans. Head coach Patrick Kane said, "Adding Rob to our coaching staff could not come at a better time. His rugby experience and knowledge is extensive and his military background will be essential in instilling much-needed discipline and toughness in our team."

Exhibition Season Ends on Sour Note

(Kyle Rae O'Donnell photo)

Wake Forest's Fall 2010 exhibition season ended on Saturday with a 29-10 loss to North Carolina State. As was the case the week before against South Carolina, Wake Forest struggled at the scrum and was besieged by penalties. Wake allowed the more physical Wolfpack to pound over 5 tries, while managing only a single try in the waning minutes by junior center Ben Cohen to go along with a first half penalty goal from sophomore fullback Johnny McMurray. Head coach Patrick Kane said of the game afterwards, "The point of playing these games in the fall is to improve as a team and individuals and identify what we need to work on going into the offseason. This game certainly highlighted the areas we need to focus on over the next 3 months." While the result was disappointing, the game did have some bright spots, including the return from injury of junior wing Brandon Turner and the emergence of sophomore wing Todd McFadden, a crossover athlete from the Wake Forest track team. "With Brandon, Todd, Drew Chadwick, and with Franco Cima joining us in January, I think we will have one of the fastest backlines in the ACRL," said Kane. "The question will be if we can win enough ball to utilize that speed and improve our defensive structure so we don't hemorrhage tries like we did against USC and NC State."

Wake Forest Lineup vs. NC State

1. Matt Storck, Sr.
2. Matt Tucker, So. (Matt McCurdy, Fr. @ 35)
3. Justen Robinett, Jr.
4. Ross Hilton, Sr.
5. Ty Pierce, So. (Tim Zage, Fr. @ 65)
6. Jack Zimmerman, Fr.
7. Brendan Shea, Jr.
8. Hunter Lostan, Sr. (Chris Ryan, Jr. @ 73)
9. Will Hank, Jr.
10. Rob Kelly, So.
11. Brandon Turner, Jr.
12. Ben Cohen, Jr.
13. Ryan Tacon, Fr.
14. Drew Chadwick, Sr. (Todd McFadden, So. @ 50)
15. Johnny McMurray, So.

Wake Struggles Against USC

Wake Forest got beat handily on Saturday in an exhibition game with South Carolina. The Gamecocks were fitter and more physical than the Demon Deacons, using their hard-running forwards to create space for a talented backline. USC scored five tries in the first half, three coming directly from Wake Forest penalties inside their 22. Wake, meanwhile, could not find an offensive rythym and was constantly on the backfoot defensively. The Demon Deacons did manage two tries in the first stanza, one from sophomore scrumhalf Johnny McMurray after an excellent driving maul, and one from freshman center Ryan Tacon. McMurray converted both tries and also slotted a penalty goal for a personal tally of 12 first half points. The second half was more evenly contested, but Wake still struggled to stop the South Carolina forwards as they attacked off the fringes of the rucks. The Gamecocks ran in three more tries in the second forty, while Wake touched down two from juniors Brendan Shea and Ben Cohen.
Wake's fall exhibition season will end on Saturday when they take on the NC State Wolfpack in Raleigh. Kickoff for the match is tentatively scheduled for 11am.

Wake Lineup vs USC

1. Matt Storck, Sr.

2. Jack Zimmerman, Fr.

3. Ty Pierce, So. (Justen Robinett, Jr. @ 60)

4. Matt McCurdy, Fr.

5. Ross Hilton, Sr.

6. Tim Zage, Fr. (Clarke Ryan, Fr. @ 60)

7. Brendan Shea, Jr.

8. Hunter Lostan, Sr.

9. Johnny McMurray, So.

10. Rob Kelly, So.

11. Jim Kavalec, So.

12. Matt Tucker, So. (Steve McMillen, Sr. @ 40)

13. Ryan Tacon, Fr.

14. Drew Chadwick, Sr.

15. Ben Cohen, Jr.

Nationally-Ranked Gamecocks Up Next For Wake Forest

Fullback Johnny McMurray in action against USC in January

The Wake Forest men's rugby team takes a break from its fall exhibition schedule this weekend but will be back in action next weekend at home against the University of South Carolina. The Gamecocks are ranked #7 in the country in Division I-AA by American Rugby News and will provide by far the toughest test that the Demon Deacons have faced this fall. The last meeting between these teams was in January of this year when USC deafeated Wake 20-17 in the opening match of the Carolinas Rugby League season. The defeat left a bitter taste in the mouths of the Demon Deacon players who felt that they should have won the game. Although next week's game is simply an exhibition match, the Wake coaching staff views it as a measuring stick as to where the program is relative to other D1-AA competition leading into the spring ACRL season. Kickoff will be at 1pm on Poteat Field.

Alumni Challenged But Keep Perfect Record Intact

The Wake Forest Rugby Alumni team moved their record to 4-0 in the 4th Annual Homcoming game, defeating the current Wake side 29-19. The alumni jumped out to an early 14-0 lead with tries by flanker Trent Justice, '10 and 8man Greg Wagner, '07. Both tries were converted by flyhalf Patrick Kane, JD '07.

Greg Wagner, '07 touches down a try after an 8man pick

The undergrads rebounded with a try from freshmen wing Ryan Tacon to make the score 14-5, but the Alumni responded with a try from wing Jordan Weiss to push the lead to 19-5. As the superior fitness of the undergrads began to show, freshmen Liam McIntyre touched down to bring the score to 19-12 after a tremendous touchline conversion by sophomore fullback Johnny McMurray.

Wake Alumni run a penalty play close to the Undergrads tryline

The Alumni extended their lead to 24-12 after a well-executed lineout play resulted in a try for flanker Andrew Gentles, '05.

The final 20 minutes of action saw the undergrads pressuring hard and the Alumni struggling to hang on. McMurray scored a spectacular individual try and slotted another touchline conversion to bring the undergrads within striking distance at 24-19. But a ball handling error inside the undergrad 22 resulted in a try for lock Christian Jewett, '1? and the Alumni side moved its all-time record to an unblemished 4-0.

Alumni lineup
1. Hien Nguyen, '07
2. Mike Duffy, '10
3. Ken Forte, '10
4. Christian Jewett, '1?
5. Adam Blincoe, '07
6. Trent Justice, '10
7. Andrew Gentles, '05
8. Greg Wagner, '07
9. Achilleas Patounas, '06
10. Patrick Kane, JD '07
11. Jordan Weiss, '06
12. Matt Gottbrecht, '09
13. David Buckingham, '07
14. David Hobson, '08
15. Perry Salvagne, '10
16. Dave Poplaski, '09
17. RI Smith, '10
18. Matt Farrell, '05 (DNP, Injured)
19. Rusty Hedrick, '07 (DNP, Injured)

Francesco Cima to Enroll at Wake Forest for Spring Semester

Francesco Cima, an 18 yr old center/wing from the Marbella Rugby Club in Spain will enroll at Wake Forest in January and join the Demon Deacon rugby team. Cima, an accomplished soccer, rugby and track athlete who formerly held the U-17 Eurpoean record for the 100m, is the cousin of former High School All-American Matias Cima from Gonzaga. Matias is now the starting flyhalf for the University of Maryland, after choosing the Terps over Wake Forest last spring. "We were certainly disappointed when Matias chose not to come to Wake this fall, but I understand his reasons and why Maryland is a better fit for him right now," said Head Coach Patrick Kane. "But having his equally talented cousin now decide to come to Wake Forest certainly softens the blow of losing out on Matias. Francesco can play anywhere from 11-15 in the backline and he will be a tremendous addition to our team as we enter the first year of ACRL competition. But more importantly, the University is getting an incredibly smart and motivated young man who I can guarantee will be successful in the classroom."

Wake Forest's backline will be bolstered in the spring not only by the addition of Cima, but also by the return from injury of speedster wing Brandon Turner, who tore his ACL and meniscus playing for the North Carolina Rugby Union Collegiate All-Star team last November.

Brandon Turner and Ross Hilton Featured on Fox 8

http://www.myfox8.com/videobeta/7050b051-a1be-4be6-98a2-653854c2206d/News/Wake-Forest-Rugby

Wake Looks Strong Against Tough UNC-Wilmington Team

Freshmen Ryan Tacon breaks away for one of his three tries

Wake Forest improved on its performance last weekend against Elon with a solid showing against UNC-Wilmington in an exhibition game on Saturday in Winston-Salem. Playing three 35 minute periods, Wake's first side backline contributed 5 tries in the first two periods, three coming from freshmen Ryan Tacon in his debut for the Demon Deacons. Junior forward Brendan Shea also touched down twice in the first 70 minutes. Sophomore fullback Johnny McMurray continued his excellent goalkicking converting 6 of Wake's 7 tries. Wake Forest's defense allowed a try by the Seahawks in each of the first two periods, but UNC-W came alive in the third stanza to outscore the Demon Deacons three tries to zero.

Next Saturday Wake Forest plays its annual alumni game. Kickoff will be at 12pm at Poteat Field with alumni reception to follow.