April 6, 2006
Maryland Competitive Cheer performed a nearly flawless routine today and is in second place after the first round of competition.
The first half of the routine was perfect, just as the team expected. There were no touchdowns in the opening standing-tuck and jump sequence and the pyramid timing and technique was on.
Captain Annie Turro said, "I could tell everything was going well because I never stopped feeling the energy among the girls. It's hard to tell how you're doing when you're out there, but the crowd was so loud and into it that I knew we looked good."
One tumbling pass touched down, pinning the team with a .1 deduction. The team is not worried about that happening at finals because the cheer floor will be on a raised stage, not a cement floor like at pre-lims. The finals floor gives more during tumbling passes and mimics the performance of a spring floor.
The Terps also earned a .1 deduction for the one scale partner stunt that fell. Coach Fleece is confident that all groups will stick tomorrow. "They were perfect in warm-up...and they have been perfect all season. Sometimes a fluke just happens out there."
The team's third and final deduction was .05 for an incomplete double-down out of the bow-and-arrow partner stunts.
Junior Brynn Moyer offered the team motivation in the huddle after the scores were posted. "It's harder to keep a first place position than to take it."
The team will conduct a short walk-through this evening to make a few formation changes and will then rest for tomorrow's final competition.
The top 13 teams will compete in finals. The top 12 teams from pre-lims are automatically entered, but the thirteenth team comes from the Challenge Cup held Friday morning. The Challenge Cup allows all teams whose pre-lim scores do not qualify them for finals to compete again for one open spot.
University of Louisville 9.26
University of Maryland 9.10
University of South Carolina 8.69
Kennesaw State University 8.57
University of Georgia 8.55
Rutgers University 8.42
Quinnipiac University
Steven F. Austin University 8.26
University of Missouri 8.22
University of Mass- Amherst 8.20
University of Florida 8.11
University of New Hampshire 8.08
Challenge Cup Winner
