Before this past weekend, not many people knew much about South Carolina’s competitive bass fishing team, but the Gamecocks captured the campus’ attention when they took the 2015 Fishing League Worldwide (FLW) College Fishing National Championship on Saturday.
The tournament took place at Lake Murray, and South Carolina, aka "The Anglers at USC" made good use of the home lake advantage as the Gamecocks pushed past Liberty, a previous tournament champion.
Following three rounds of competition, South Carolina’s two-man team of sophomore Patrick Walters and junior Gettys Brannon amassed a tournament-best weight of 53 pounds, 2 ounces.
For Walters, the anxiety that came with waiting for the final weigh-in was nerve-wracking, but worth it.
“Standing in the lines over there, I was just ready to weigh-in,” Walters told The State. “You know almost what everyone’s got and you know it’s going to be within ounces. It racks your nerves. I’m not going to be able to sleep for three days now. No emotion can really describe it.”
Second-place Liberty finished with 51 pounds, 13 ounces.
Throughout the days of the event, Brannon and Walters received plenty of support from the South Carolina community.
Brannon threw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to the start of last Thursday’s baseball game between South Carolina and Vanderbilt.
Two days later, the crowd at Carolina Stadium applauded and cheered when it was announced that South Carolina had brought home the FLW College Fishing National Championship.
Because of its first-place finish, South Carolina won a Ranger Z117 boat and engine along with a $5,000 cash prize.
Another Gamecock Championship!USC wins the College Fishing Championship with Bass weighing 42.14lbs. Now that's huge! pic.twitter.com/ijFhckOUBt
— Harris Pastides (@HarrisPastides) April 18, 2015