Wake Forest to Tune Up for Atlantic Coast Rugby 7s at Furman Collegiate 7s Event

Wake Forest will be without the services of 2011 First Team All-ACRL fullback Johnny McMurray, who is spending the semester in Australia.

Wake Forest will prepare for the 2011 Atlantic Coast Invitational by participating in a day of Collegiate 7s on Spetember 10th at Furman University in Greenville, SC. Wake Forest will square off against fellow ACI team Clemson, as well as 2010 SEC 7s Champion University of Tennessee, Furman University, UNC-Wilmington, and UNC-Greensboro.

Wake Forest returns less than half of its 15 man roster from the 2010 ACI and will be looking for new players to fill the shoes of departed seniors Ross Hilton, Hunter Lostan, Drew Chadwick, and Steve McMillen. Wake will also be without junior backs Johnny McMurray and Rob Kelly, who are studying abroad in Australia and Spain respectively.

The 2011 ACI will take place on September 17-18 at Macpherson Stadium in Greensboro, NC. for more information, visit http://www.acirugby.com/.

Wake Forest Falls To NC State in Final of Airborne 7s

NC St. defeated Wake Forest 31-0 in the final of the Airborne 7s Open Division on Saturday. State took advantage of a clearly fatigued Wake side to dominate the tackle contest and starve the Demon Deacons of possession. Leading up to the match, Wake Forest had gone 4-0 in pool play with wins over Fort Bragg, Southern Pines, Jokers, and Cape Fear B, while the Wolfpack ran through their pool 3-0 with wins over Raleigh, ECU B and Wake Forest B. Wake Forest B, a side heavy with front row players, struggled on the day and finished 0-3 in their pool.

Taking his cue from Wake Forest B's performance, Wake Forest's Michael Kane, '30 got beat soundly in the "Children's Obstacle Course," finishing dead last. Wake Forest coaches are now contemplating rescinding his scholarship offer.

Wake Forest Player Pool for Airborne 7s

Drew Ammons, '14
Sal Scifo, '14
Johnny McMurray, '13
Rob Kelly, '13
Nick Conte, '12
Matt Storck, '12
Jeff Millar, '12
Justen Robinette, '12
Christian Jewett, '11
Ross Hilton, '11
Mike Duffy, '10
Mike Wills, '10
Trent Justice, '10
Kenton Forte, '10
Dave Poplaski, '09
Tyler Eure, '08
Greg Wagner, '07
David Buckingham, '07
Patrick Kane, JD '07
Michael Kane, '30
Crawford Miller (Guest Player)
Hunter Naff (Guest Player)
Ryan Clarke (Guest Player)

Wake Forest 7s Falls to Charlotte in Semifinals of Greenville 7s

Current and former Wake Forest ruggers joined together for the Greenville 7s tournament this past weekend. The team went unbeaten in pool play, defeating Charlotte B 12-5, Western Carolina 21-7, and Savannah 47-7. The team advanced to the Championship Semifinals where they faced Charlotte A. Wake could not match the speed nor the experience of the Charlotte side and lost 29-14. Charlotte went on to win the tournament, defeating the Georgia Collegiate Selects 12-0 in the final. Wake Forest 7s will be in action this weekend at the Airborne 7s in Fayetteville, NC with two sides entered.

Wake Forest 7s Team at Greenville 7s

Sal Scifo, '14
Johnny McMurray, '13
Robert Kelly, '13
Wes Bloomer, '13
Nick Conte, '12
Matt Storck, '12
Justen Robinett, '12
Ross Hilton, '11
Trent Justice, '10
Patrick Kane, JD '07
Michael Kane, '30

Demon Deacons and Spartans Kickoff Joint 7s Program

Wake's Johnny McMurray and UNC-G's Crawford Miller will lead the joint side this summer.

Players and coaches from Wake Forest and UNC-Greensboro have joined together this summer to practice and compete in rugby 7s. The players will train twice a week, alternating between Greensboro and Winston-Salem, and will compete in at least 4 tournaments throughout the southeast. Additionally, the players and coaches will work with Triad Youth Rugby to help teach local high school players the finer points of the game of rugby 7s.

Wake Adds Familiar Face to Coaching Staff

Mike Wills gets ready to steamroll an ECU defender in a 2008 game

Mike Wills, '10, will join the Wake Forest coaching staff in the fall as an assistant coach. Wills was an All-Star player for Wake from 2006-2010, but his career was marred by injuries, including two ACL tears. He will be returning to Wake to pursue a Masters in Accounting.

Team Officers Named for 2011-2012

The Wake Forest Men's Rugby Team has named its team leadership for the 2011-2012 Academic Year:

President: Ben Cohen
Treasurer: Bryce Lambert
Vice-President Marketing and Publicity: Nick Conte
Vice-President Recruitment: James Watson
Vice-President Field Management: Drew Mehrmann
Vice-President Equipment Management: Steve Hemric
Vice-President Philanthropy: Brandon Turner
Vice-President Social Events: Chris Ryan

Gonzaga Rugby in Washington Post

Gonzaga, alma mater of former Wake rugger Mike Wills and current standout Johnny McMurray, is featured in the Washington Post.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/highschools/a-good-old-fashioned-scrum-at-gonzaga/2011/05/05/AFgJl10F_gallery.html#photo=1