It should come as no surprise to a fan of either side that the Clemson-South Carolina rivalry extends beyond the universities’ NCAA Division I sports teams. In fact, some of Clemson’s club sports believe their rivalries with their South Carolina counterparts are some of the strongest on campus.
For the Clemson men’s club lacrosse team, this is true; the team describes its rivalry with the Gamecocks in one word: heated.
“Since joining the men’s club lacrosse team in the fall of 2021, it’s always been about beating South Carolina,” John Hennessey, club president and goalkeeper, said in an interview with The Tiger. “Every year, we outline goals in our introductory meeting before we host tryouts, with one of our main goals being to ‘Win the State.’ They are always the last game of our regular season before conference playoffs start, but it feels like playoffs really begin with them.”
And, as of last season, recent history was not on Clemson’s side. Even one of Hennessey’s fondest memories during his time as a Tiger resulted in a loss to the Gamecocks.
“I was a freshman on the team in 2022 when we had the opportunity to host our rivalry game on Historic Riggs Field in front of ~3,000 fans,” Hennessey said. “I stood on the library bridge for hours the day before with my other teammates, handing out flyers and spreading the word. Despite losing in sudden death overtime, it was still one of my best memories from my entire experience at Clemson.”
“Our rivalry with South Carolina is one that hasn’t favored us in recent years,” Hennessey explained. “Leading up to our game this past April, we hadn’t beaten them in six years.”
Despite losing their previous three games to Auburn, Virginia Tech and Liberty, the Tigers honored their seniors at LoConte Family Field last semester on April 11 and gave them the best parting gift they could ever ask for: a win over the Gamecocks for the first time since 2017.
South Carolina took a quick 3-2 lead in the first quarter, but Clemson held the Gamecocks scoreless in the second and third while adding three goals of its own to take a 5-3 lead entering the final frame.
And the Tigers weren’t finished yet.
“After losing a couple of games earlier in the season by a small margin, our coaches and captains emphasized the importance of finishing games with nothing left in the tank,” Hennessey said.
Running on fumes, the Tigers gave it all they had against their rivals in the fourth quarter. Luckily for Clemson, the team’s efforts were not in vain, as the Tigers netted four more goals to South Carolina’s one to secure a 9-4 victory.
“There was no better way to send off the seniors than getting a win over South Carolina that night,” Hennessey said.
This season, Clemson will look for a repeat win against South Carolina in the teams’ next meeting on Apr. 10, 2025.
