Gamecocks 2-2 at Sunshine 7s

South Carolina finished 2-2 at the Sunshine 7s Tournament February 24 in Gainesville, FL.

It was a respectable record against some very good opponents. But the weekend could have borne more fruit.

The Gamecocks failed to find much offensive rhythm in the first game, but the effort was enough to defeat the host team Florida 21-14.

The team followed that up with a gutty 15-10 win over a resurgent Alabama squad. Injuries throughout the day whittled down the starting seven. The Gamecocks entered the tournament without senior Grant Howard. Nick DuBois, last year’s leading scorer, re-aggravated a hamstring injury against Florida and would not return. And senior Jack van Vliet suffered a shoulder injury against Alabama and would also bow out for the day.

Nothing went right for the Gamecocks against Queens, a 34-12 loss. While Carolina ended 4-team pool play with a 2-1 record, point differential put them in third place. That pitted the Gamecocks against Clemson in the afternoon game.

The short-handed Gamecocks put up a spirited fight against Clemson, leading 12-0. The Tigers cut the lead to 12-7 early in the second half before a Gamecock was sidelined with a yellow card. The Tigers took advantage of the overload and never looked back, winning 21-12.

Fortunately, none of the USC injuries are overly serious. But the team will likely enter the March 2 Gamecock Invitational with some talented players on the sideline. But they will use the opportunity to develop younger players.

“After this weekend, it’s spring break,” said Coach John Roberts. “And it comes at the right time. Hopefully, we can get everyone healed up for our stretch run.”