Big Weekend for the Cocks

The South Carolina men’s rugby team went undefeated and captured the Dixie Cup Championship Feb. 17 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

The 15-team tournament included many Southeastern Conference rivals.

In morning games, the Gamecocks ran through three opponents with relative ease besting Memphis B 38-0, Georgia B 53-0 and Charleston 40-7.

USC put together a marvelous first half against host Alabama in the semi-final and led 19-0 at the break. Unforced errors were an issue for the team in second half as the Crimson Tide put down two trys and conversions to make the final score 19-14.

Then it was on to the finals against Georgia who advanced to the championship with a close win over the University of Tennessee. The feisty Bulldogs traded trys with Gamecocks in the first half before USC pulled away in the second half to secure a 27-15 win.

The USC B-side finished 1-2 on the day defeating Kennesaw State 24-0 and dropping contests to Georgia 31-7 and Alabama 36-0.

Sophomore Matty Walsh led the Gamecocks with six trys. Sophomore Grant Ruhlen and Frazer Hart, an exchange student, each scored four trys while Gavin Curran (freshman), Dan Golden (senior) and Pat Emch (senior) added three trys.

The Gamecock A-side own a 7-1 record and travel to Gainesville Saturday to participate in the Sunshine 7s tournament which is a CRC qualifier.