3:12 p.m., Jan. 6, 2009----There will be a send-off for the University of Delaware's spirit teams at 7 p.m., Monday, Jan. 12, just a few days before they compete at the Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA) College Cheerleading and Dance National Championships, scheduled for Jan. 16-18, at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla.

THIS STORY

E-mail

Print

Twitter

The send-off will take place in Gym 1 of the Carpenter Sports Building. The University of Delaware's dance, cheerleading and YoUDee mascot teams will be performing the same routines that will be seen at the national competition.

The event is free of charge and the campus community is invited to attend.

University of Delaware Dance Team Coach Nicole Zehnder said the send-off is a nice way to give recognition to the spirit teams, since they often give recognition to the university's athletic teams.

UD Cheerleading Coach Andy Brown said the send-off is one of the biggest performances of the year for the team and that his cheerleaders are excited to show family and friends what they do.

Sharon Harris, YoUDee mascot coordinator and associate director in the Office of Communications and Marketing, said the team is “very proud of our nationals presentation and excited to perform at the send-off show and also in Florida.”

Zehnder said the send-off is a good way for each team to have a dress rehearsal and see the reactions and excitement of an audience while they perform their routines.

The teams qualified for the competition by submitting entry videos of their routines to the UCA. University of Delaware videos took first place in their divisions in the categories of dance team, mascot and partner stunts.

Zehnder said the team is in deep preparation and very excited for nationals, but added they need to stay focused while they are still training and keep their emotions at bay up until then if they want to win the competition.

“We definitely have the choreography and the talent to do so,” Zehnder said. “We have to remember that we were ranked first for a reason and that we're capable of maintaining that throughout the competition.”

Brown said the cheerleading team, which qualified second in its division, is excited to prove to people what they are capable of doing.

Brown said that although the team is young, he believes they have what it takes to take the top spot in the competition.

“They definitely have the skill,” he said. “We'll see how they do that day.”

In the partner stunt qualifiers, senior Gillian Guadagnino and graduate student Ben Schreiber qualified in first place, while teammates Lauren Greco, a freshman, and Jon Lee, a senior, placed 18th out of 42 teams.

The UCA national competition will begin at 6 p.m., Friday, Jan. 16. To follow the action throughout the weekend, go to the Varsity web site.

Article by Jon Bleiweis