Duke Rugby falls to UNCG in State Championship Final
Greensboro, NC - November 8, 2009 ------- Duke Rugby finished the
fall season with a tough loss to UNCG 42-26. Duke took an early 12-0 lead but
could not hold on against their larger opponents. UNCG defeated Guilford 75-5
in the semi finals and Duke beat UNC-Charlotte 22-5 to reach the finals.
Tries were scored by Uki Deane (2), Jason Liao and Franco Signorini.
Calvin Hayes accounted for 6 points on conversion kicks.
Strong efforts were put forth by the entire Duke team. Forwards Adam Lang,
Dan Forti, Louis Hellman, Kevin DeLand, Andrew Leggett, John Pennington,
Dylan Flye, Franco Signorini, Diego Proietti and Jake Wood played tough
and held their own for most of the match against a much larger UNCG pack.
The Duke back line showed flashes of brilliance, moving the ball at will when they
got it and tackling the hard-charging Spartans when on defense.
Calvin Hayes, Jason Liao, Nick Wellner, Uki Deane and Tom Luciano played very well
in this hard-fought battle. David Houck was named Man of the Match by head coach,
Jay Wisse for his heady play at fullback and his numerous open-field tackles.
The team will take a break to concentrate on studies but will continue with
conditioning work and light rugby workouts in preparation for the spring season,
during which Duke expects to compete for the state and ultimately the national
Division 3 Championship as it strives to move up to the new Carolinas League of
Division 1 and 2 teams in the 2010/2011 season.