Wake Continues Winning Preseason

Wake Forest defeated Furman 18-15 in sloppy conditions on Saturday. Sophomores Brandon Turner and Charlie Crockett scored tries for the Demon Deacons against a very young Paladin side. Wake continues its preseason on Saturday against the Myrtle Beach Rugby Club. Time and location to be announced.

Six Wake Players Named to All-Star Team

Six Wake Forest men's rugby players were named to the North Carolina Collegiate All-Star team that will compete in the South Collegiate All-Star Tournament on November 14 in Knoxville, TN. Seniors Mike Duffy (Hooker), Christian Jewett (Lock), Ross Hilton (Lock), Trent Justice (Flanker) and Mike Wills (Center) and sophomore Brandon Turner (Wing) were all selected after a two weekend tryout. Duffy, Jewett and Hilton are all making their second appearance on the squad, while Justice, Wills and Turner will be representing North Carolina for the first time.

2009 North Carolina Collegiate All-Star Team

Akerman, Randy (App State)
Bourgeois, Justin (ECU)
Burcal, Phil (NC State)
Calvo, Jeff (UNC – Charlotte)
Connor, Travis (App State)
Dawkins, Carson (ECU)
Delatorre, Frederico (UNC – Charlotte)
Duffy, Mike (Wake Forest)
Dugard, Jamie (UNC)
Epifanio, Justin (UNC)
Ezarsky, Brett (App State)
Felts, Michael (UNC – Charlotte)
Hilton, Ross (Wake Forest)
Hughston, Matt (ECU)
Jewett, Christian (Wake Forest)
Joseph, Iain (UNC – Wilmington)
Justice, Trent (Wake Forest)
Lee, Alex (UNC)
Llewellyn, Ben (App State)
MacLennan, Gregor (UNC)
Newcomer, Zach (App State)
Smith, Josh (App State)
Turner, Brandon (Wake Forest)
Wills, Mike (Wake Forest)
Zabor, Drew (App State)

Two Players Lost For Season to ACL Tears

Junior prop Matt Storck and sophomore flyhalf Ben Cohen will both miss the entirety of the 2009-2010 season after suffering torn ACLs. Both players will undergo surgery this fall and should be ready to return to play by the fall of 2010. Storck and Cohen were both members of the North Carolina College All-Star Team last year and started every game for the Demon Deacons in the spring.

Wake Opens Preseason With Win Over Wildcats

Wake Forest opened its 2009-2010 preseason with a 30-5 defeat over the visiting Davidson Wildcats. Freshman fullback Johnny McMurray scored two tries and was 4 for 6 with the boot for a personal tally of 20 points in his college rugby debut. Sophomore wing Will Hank and sophomore hooker Chris Ryan also touched down for the Demon Deacons. Freshmen Ty Pierce, Barrett Corrigan, Drew Mehrmann, Justen Robinett, Michael Guju, James Jeffrey, and Jon Coates all played key roles in the Wake victory.

Wake will continue its preseason next weekend with a match against perenniel Division III power Furman. The match will take place on Poteat Field with a 3:30pm kickoff.

Wake Lineup

1. Nick Conte (So.)
2. Chris Ryan (So.)
3. Ken Forte (Sr.)
4. Ty Pierce (Fr.)
5. Brendan Maaghul (So.)
6. Justen Robinett (Fr.)
7. Jeff Millar (So.)
8. Charlie Crockett (So.)
9. Drew Mehrmann (Fr.)
10. Brendan Shea (So.)
11. Kip Lewis (So.)
12. David Sage (Sr.)
13. Perry Salvagne (Sr.)
14. Will Hank (So.)
15. Johnny McMurray (Fr.)

16. Devin Henry (Jr.)
17. Michael Guju (Fr.)
18. Barrett Corrigan (Fr.)
19. James Jeffrey (Fr.)
20. Jon Coates (Fr.)
21. Clay Robinson (Jr.)

Wake Opens Preseason Play Against Davidson

Wake Forest men's rugby team will open its 2009-2010 preseason schedule against the Davidson Wildcats on Saturday at 1pm at Poteat Field.

Patounas Earns #9 Jersey for Princeton AC

Achilleas Patounas, Wake Rugby Class of '06, donned the #9 jersey yesterday for the Division II Princeton Athletic Club and led the team to a 50-18 victory over league foe Montclair. Patounas, who was Wake's starting scrumhalf from 2004-2006, joined PAC in the spring of 2007. At the time, Princeton had a veteran captain manning the scrumhalf position, meaning that if Patounas wanted to see the field, he would have to move to a new position. And so he did, spending two years playing anywhere the team needed him: fullback, wing, center, and even flanker. At times Patounas also got some time at #9, and this past spring, with PAC's longtime scrumhalf recovering from injury, Patounas stepped in at scrumhalf fulltime. No doubt having benefitted from his time at unfamiliar positions, Patounas was a much improved scrumhalf and led the team to some great results, including an undefeated performance in Montana's Maggotfest tournament in May. So it was that Patounas was given the nod at #9 for the fall season league opener against Montclair. He did not disappoint, marshalling Princeton to a blowout and scoring a try himself in the process. Princeton will be in action again next weekend against the Lansdowne Rugby Club out of New York City. Lansdowne also has a connection to Wake Forest Rugby, as the brother of Dave Poplaski, Wake Rugby Class of 2009, anchors the Lansdowne front row at prop.

Wake Welcomes Strong Freshman Class

The Wake Forest men's rugby team began practice this week, welcoming a very strong group of freshman to a team that returns most of its first side players from last season. A summary of the class of 2013 is below:

Drew Mehrmann is a four year player from Hong Kong. Drew was primarily a flanker for his high school team, but looks to factor in at a halfback position for Wake.

John McMurry comes to Wake from rugby powerhouse Gonzaga High School in Washington D.C. John played wing, scrumhalf, and flyhalf for a Gonzaga team that perennially finished in the top 10 in the country. He also was a starter on Gonzaga's nationally ranked soccer team. McMurry will play halfback and in the back three for Wake and will give the team the solid goalkicking presence that it was missing last year.

John Coates comes to Wake Forest from York, England, by way of Winston-Salem, where his father is a professor at Wake. John honed his rugby skills during his summers in England and is a try-scoring wing with impressive pace.

Chris Sanborn is a product of the relatively new rugby program at prestigious Delbarton High School in New Jersey. Chris will look to find time at wing and fullback for Wake.

Graham Rich is a rugby journeyman who has played in Azerbaijan, Dubai, and London. He has experience at fullback, wing, and center, and his versatility will make him extremely valuable to the Demon Deacon backline.

Ty Pierce joins the team with no rugby experience, but a very strong athletic background as a football standout for Highland Park in Dallas, TX. At 6' 3", 235 lbs, and extremely fit and skilled, Ty will challenge right away for a starting spot at prop or lock.

James Jeffrey is another freshman who joins the team with no prior rugby experience, but an impressive athletic background. James played baseball, ran track, and rowed crew in high school and will look to make the transition to rugby as an outside back.

Barrett Corrigan is a first year player, having transferred to Wake. Barrett has a wrestling background and solid build and will likely begin his rugby career in the front row.

Billy Caster is a former basketball player from Cleveland, OH whose size and skills make him well-suited for the second row. Billy is rehabbing a knee injury and looks to get on the field midway through the fall season.

At least four more Wake freshman arrived on campus with significant rugby experience but have yet to join the team. Charlie and Scott Frankel, who learned their rugby with the Second City Troop Club outside of Philadelphia, are taking the first semester to focus on their academics. Rob Kelly, a 3 year flyhalf from the Landon School in Maryland has chosen club soccer in favor of the rugby team. And Sal Scifo, a hooker with two year experience under his belt, is taking the fall away from rugby to rehab a knee injury.

The Wake coaching staff is extremely excited about this group of freshmen and looks forward to many of them making an immediate impact on the field.