April 9, 2009
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -
The Maryland competitive cheer team is in second place after the preliminary round of competition at NCA nationals in Daytona Beach, Fla. The Terps are working towards their fourth consecutive national title in the All Girl I division.
The Terrapins are currently 0.03 behind the University of Louisville, last year's third place finisher. According to head coach Jarnell Bonds, the Terrapins had a small traffic error that led to a mistake in the first pyramid sequence. The Terps' highlight was their basket toss sequence, with three double-full basket tosses.
"We got our highest scores in basket tosses and jumps. We got all 10.8s out of 11 in those categories. We got a 10.7 in crowd involvement, which is huge since that's the only score that carries over to Friday," said Bonds.
"The seniors had an important leadership role yesterday. They were the first class to win a national championship for Maryland, so they've really been motivating everyone else."
The Terps' division is scheduled to begin competition tomorrow at 5:40 p.m., with their Awards scheduled for 6:40 p.m.
Sophomore Lauren Fong's Blog From Nationals
Hey Everyone,
One down, one more to go. We're in second place to Louisville after prelims. Practice felt so good today, so many people stopped to watch us yesterday. When we warmed up the double full baskets, a boy from another team's jaw literally dropped and another told me that our team is his idol. That was probably the best feeling in the world. The crowd cheer felt really good today and the parents did an awesome job yelling back. The routine went really well, even though we did have a mistake in the pyramid. The girls stayed strong to the end. Everyone is really confident going in to the competiton today, especially being in second place. We have room for improvement by cleaning the routine up and leaving our hearts on the floor by showing off and putting our routine over the top. Today is the reason why we put so many hours, tears, aches and sweat into this team. It is the most fun and scariest day ever and I cannot wait to get out on the stage next to the ocean, looking out at the thousands of fans cheering for Maryland, cheering for us.
Lauren Fong
