Top 10 South Carolina sports moments of 2022-23 season, from SEC titles to Clemson upset
COLUMBIA — The 2022-23 South Carolina athletics calendar has officially come to a close, and it was a good year to be a Gamecocks fan.
The Gamecocks were represented in 11 of a possible 17 NCAA tournaments/championships, plus the National College Equestrian Association tournament, and earned more than a dozen All-American honors. From SEC championships to school records to historic upsets, here are the best South Carolina sports moments from the last 10 months:
Nov. 6: Women's soccer wins SEC championship over Alabama
After losing to Alabama during the regular season, the Gamecocks pulled off a 1-0 win over the Crimson Tide in the SEC championship game. It was the program's second conference tournament title in four years and third all-time. South Carolina went on to reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, where it fell 2-1 to Duke.
Nov. 19: Fans storm Williams-Brice Stadium after Tennessee upset
South Carolina football pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the 2022 season when it routed then-No. 5 Tennessee 63-38 in front of a sold-out crowd at Williams-Brice Stadium. Quarterback Spencer Rattler threw for a career-high 438 yards and six touchdowns, and fans stormed the field for the first time since the Gamecocks beat No. 1 Alabama in 2010.
Nov. 26: Football ends seven-year losing streak vs Clemson
A week after toppling Tennessee, South Carolina picked up an even bigger win over longtime rival Clemson. The 31-30 victory against the then-No. 7 Tigers was the Gamecocks' first in the series since 2013, and it also snapped Clemson's 40-game home winning streak. The win earned South Carolina its highest College Football Playoff ranking ever at No. 19.
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Jan. 10: Men's basketball upsets Kentucky at Rupp
The Gamecocks won just four SEC games in 2022-23, but their first conference victory came against Kentucky at the Wildcats' historic Rupp Arena. It was South Carolina's first win at Kentucky since 2009 and ended the Wildcats' 28-game home winning streak. Meechie Johnson led the Gamecocks with a career-high 26 points, including six 3-pointers.
Feb. 5: Women's basketball gets first road win over UConn
South Carolina cemented its status as the rising powerhouse of women's college basketball in 2023 by dethroning UConn on its home court for the first time in six road meetings. It was also South Carolina's third straight win over the Huskies. Star forward Aliyah Boston and junior center Kamilla Cardoso both logged double-doubles in the 81-77 victory.
Feb. 26: Women's basketball completes undefeated regular season
The Gamecocks entered the 2022-23 season as the No. 1 team in the nation and held that spot through the entire regular season. They finished undefeated and went on to win the SEC Tournament, keeping an unblemished record until the Final Four. South Carolina's 42 consecutive wins set a new program record, and the team knocked off nine ranked opponents on the way.
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April 10: Aliyah Boston selected No. 1 overall in WNBA Draft
Boston became the second South Carolina player selected No. 1 in the WNBA Draft following Gamecock legend A'ja Wilson in 2017. She was drafted by the Indiana Fever and was recently named the WNBA's first rookie All-Star starter since 2014. Zia Cooke and Laeticia Amihere were also selected in the first round, and the Gamecocks had five total draftees.
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April 16: Ethan Petry breaks freshman home run record
Outfielder Ethan Petry was the breakout star of the 2023 season for South Carolina baseball, and he broke the program record for home runs by a freshman in just 36 games. The previous record of 17 set by Justin Smoak in 2006 took 66 games. Petry finished with 23 home runs, 75 RBIs and a .376 batting average, earning All-American honors from Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America.
May 11-20: Softball makes Cinderella run through postseason
Despite entering the SEC Tournament below as the 10-seed, South Carolina softball pulled off back-to-back upsets to reach its first conference championship game since 2018. Despite falling to Tennessee, it was enough to get the Gamecocks into the NCAA Tournament where their hot streak continued. The team reached the regional final as a 3-seed out of the loser's bracket, where it fell to No. 2 seed Florida State.
June 4: Baseball reaches first Super Regional since 2018
South Carolina coach Mark Kingston was on the hot seat entering this season after finishing below .500 in 2022, but the team rebounded in a big way. The Gamecocks had their first 40-win season since 2014 and hosted an NCAA Tournament regional as a top-16 seed for the first time since 2016. South Carolina dominated the Columbia Regional, winning three straight games to advance to the Gainesville Super Regional.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina Gamecocks top 10 biggest sports moments of 2022-23
