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.