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A Semester of Victory: Carolina Rugby
Columbia, SC - The Fall 2011 Semester was a successful one for the Carolina Men’s Rugby Team. The Gamecocks finished strong with a 9-0 record, including 6-0 in regulation match play. The three shortened victories came from a sweep of the Palmetto State Tournament, including a 15-13 victory over Clemson in the final. The team faced in-state and neighboring-state teams, including Clemson (twice), Coastal Carolina (twice), North Carolina, North Carolina State, and both the Greenville and Columbia Men’s Club teams. The wins brought Carolina’s home record to 5-0-0 for the fall season, and extended the overall home record to 18-1-1 for the last 20 home matches.
Highlights from the season include defeating Clemson twice and winning the Palmetto State Championship. Clemson has not beaten USC since 2006, and the State Championship was Carolina’s sixth title in program history, making it the most of any team in the state. The Carolina Rugby program has been nationally ranked the last four years, maintaining a Top 25 ranking the entirety of the fall season. The Gamecocks currently sit in the 11th spot in RugbyMag’s Top 25 heading into the spring matrix.
The team competes at the Division I level in USA Rugby and is the second highest ranked team in the Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Conference. The Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Conference has four teams ranked overall, with rivals Florida (4th), Tennessee (17th), and Arkansas (23rd) all meriting attention.
The completion of this season marks the third year that the team has had three full competitive sides. Carolina is the only team in the South that has three sides that consistently compete, and USC is one of the largest teams in the nation with over sixty-five players. The Gamecocks boast one of the largest coaching staffs in the South with eight USA Rugby certified coaches, including assistant coach Geoff mason who is one of only a few former professional players coaching a collegiate rugby program in the nation today.
The team is proud of its success over the past few years and is excited to build upon it even further in the coming spring semester. Carolina will have three home matches (Kentucky, Tennessee, and Florida) and three away matches (LSU, Georgia, and Vanderbilt) in the spring matrix, and their performance will determine eligibility to compete for the national championship in May. The Gamecocks expect to perform well in the spring and hope to add to their successes from this and past semesters.
Highlights from the season include defeating Clemson twice and winning the Palmetto State Championship. Clemson has not beaten USC since 2006, and the State Championship was Carolina’s sixth title in program history, making it the most of any team in the state. The Carolina Rugby program has been nationally ranked the last four years, maintaining a Top 25 ranking the entirety of the fall season. The Gamecocks currently sit in the 11th spot in RugbyMag’s Top 25 heading into the spring matrix.
The team competes at the Division I level in USA Rugby and is the second highest ranked team in the Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Conference. The Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Conference has four teams ranked overall, with rivals Florida (4th), Tennessee (17th), and Arkansas (23rd) all meriting attention.
The completion of this season marks the third year that the team has had three full competitive sides. Carolina is the only team in the South that has three sides that consistently compete, and USC is one of the largest teams in the nation with over sixty-five players. The Gamecocks boast one of the largest coaching staffs in the South with eight USA Rugby certified coaches, including assistant coach Geoff mason who is one of only a few former professional players coaching a collegiate rugby program in the nation today.
The team is proud of its success over the past few years and is excited to build upon it even further in the coming spring semester. Carolina will have three home matches (Kentucky, Tennessee, and Florida) and three away matches (LSU, Georgia, and Vanderbilt) in the spring matrix, and their performance will determine eligibility to compete for the national championship in May. The Gamecocks expect to perform well in the spring and hope to add to their successes from this and past semesters.
USC Rugby holds at #11 in RugbyMag's Top 25
Columbia, SC - In another SEC Rugby-versus-Atlantic Coast matchup, South Carolina defeated in-state rival Clemson for the second time this season with a final score of 25-19. The Gamecocks finish the fall season undefeated at 9-0 (6-0 in regulation time) as they now prepare for the Southeastern Rugby matrix in the spring. South Carolina's first match will be at home against the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday, February 4th.
The Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Conference has four teams ranked overall, with rivals Florida (4), Tennessee (17), and Arkansas (23) all meriting attention.
The Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Conference has four teams ranked overall, with rivals Florida (4), Tennessee (17), and Arkansas (23) all meriting attention.
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