Wake Forest is in the midst of weathering perhaps the toughest stretch of rugby it has seen in the last decade, and certainly the most difficult it has seen since moving to Division 1 in 2011. After being blanked 100-0 by Navy on March 2, the Deacs have suffered three straight lopsided losses, falling 72-17 to Maryland, 86-15 to NC State, and 55-14 to Virginia. While in each instance it could be argued that the match was closer than the score indicated, the undeniable fact is that Wake is simply not executing well on either offense or defense. The team has clearly been hamstrung by injuries to key players Rob Elmore, Ryan Tacon and Wes Bloomer, all of whom were lost for the season before ACRL play began, and James Watson and Tim Zage who have been battling injuries for weeks and may now be shelved for the remainer of the year. Adding to the team's depth problems has been the dismissal of several players in the past weeks for violation of team rules. Also evident is that the squad is still adjusting to the fact that the players are now essentially coaching themselves, as long time volunteer head coach Patrick Kane has been unavailable for most of this season due to professional commitments. So while the team understands that this season has become one of survival and rebuilding, the results on the scoreboard have nevertheless been tough to swallow. That is not to say that the past three games have been devoid of anything positive. To the contrary, there have been bright spots in every game and at times the Deacons have played some good rugby. But more often than not they have found themselves on the back foot and defending for long periods and struggling to piece together offensive phases. Next week the Deacs will host Clemson. The Tigers have established themselves as the cream of the ACRL and it will undoubtedly be another difficult challenge for Wake. But the team is committed to improving each week and with every player from this season's squad returning next year, there is optimism that there are better times ahead.
Lineup vs Maryland (3/9)
1. Wohlmuth (Dormer)
2. Estes
3. Decaminada
4. Watson
5. Gutowski (Shumaker)
6. Drewery
7. Zage (Hume)
8. McIntyre
9. Lambert
10. Kelly
11. Duncan
12. Zimmerman
13. Kavalec
14. Murphy (Mehrmann, Goldman)
15. Kinzer
Tries: McIntyre, Watson, Zimmerman
Lineup vs NC State (3/23)
1. Wohlmuth (Dormer)
2. Estes
3. Decaminada
4. Gutowski (Horne)
5. Watson
6. Murphy
7. Zage (McCurdy)
8. McIntyre
9. Lambert
10. Kelly
11. Duncan (Turchin)
12. Zimmerman
13. McGuiggan (Kavalec)
14. Kinzer
15. McMurray
Tries: Duncan, Watson, Zimmerman
Conversions: McMurray
Lineup vs Virginia
1. Hodges (Dormer)
2. Ryan (McCurdy)
3. Decaminada (Wohlmuth)
4. Horne
5. Gutowski
6. Murphy
7. Estes
8. McIntyre
9. Lambert
10. Kelly
11. Duncan (Goldman)
12. Zimmerman
13. McGuiggan (Passarelli, Turchin)
14. Kinzer
15. McMurray
Tries: Gutowski, Zimmerman
Conversions: McMurray (2)
