April 10, 2009
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -
The Maryland competitive cheer team finished
second at NCA Nationals in Daytona Beach, Fla. Friday evening. The
Terps were defending national champions heading into the competition,
but lost by 0.1 to last year's third place finisher, University of
Louisville.
The Terrapins scored a 9.502 out of a possible 11 points overall,
while the Cardinals scored a 9.602. According to head coach Jarnell
Bonds, the Terps received perfect scores on their dance sequence and
scores of 10.8 out of 11 for their pyramids.
"It's just how the judges saw it," said Bonds. "It took a while for
them to decide." The Terrapins won the last three years, beginning in
April of 2006. Before that streak, Louisville had won the previous
five consecutive years.
"The girls are disappointed, but we couldn't have hit a better
routine," said Bonds. "Louisville's a great team and if they weren't
so good, we wouldn't push ourselves so hard."
