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South Carolina adds another 2022 national title, this time in men’s club lacrosse

South Carolina’s Capstone building was illuminated in garnet Sunday night as the Gamecocks celebrated another national championship in 2022.

The Gamecock men’s lacrosse club earned its second-straight Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA) Division I title Saturday, defeating Georgia Tech in the national championship game held in Round Rock, Texas.

Columbia has had plenty to celebrate since the Gamecocks women’s basketball team brought back this year’s NCAA title last month.

Noted Gamecocks supporter and country music star Darius Rucker, who put on a concert for USC following the women’s basketball title, congratulated the lacrosse club and most valuable player Sam Weis in a Twitter post after the win.

“Another Natty. Nice Sam!!!!” Rucker wrote in a quote retweet of a photo posted by the MCLA.

The Gamecocks’ lacrosse team is a club sport operating under the university’s club sports program, not the NCAA. South Carolina competes in the MCLA, a national organization of non-NCAA college lacrosse programs that operate with more than 200 teams in two divisions across the United States and Canada.

USC’s lacrosse club does not actively recruit, according to its website, and every player must be enrolled in at least 12 credit hours and meet NCAA eligibility requirements, even though the sport is not governed by the NCAA.

Gamecocks lacrosse club practices and plays home games at the Bluff Road Practice Fields. Players are required to pay “around $2,000” in annual dues, according to its website, which go toward practice sets, uniforms, travel fees, league dues and other expenses.

South Carolina last won the championship in 2019. Because the 2020 and 2021 seasons were lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Gamecocks’ 2022 title win marks back-to-back victories. The Gamecocks are the first team to repeat championships since Colorado State in 2012-13.