By Samantha Spector

The University’s dance team placed third, and the cheerleading squad placed fourth, in a national competition in Orlando, Fla. this January.

The competition, which was held in Disney World’s Wide World of Sports Complex, gave the teams the opportunity to compete against other teams around the nation.

The dance team, coached by Jill Boroski, performed to music with the theme of dreams. Songs such as “Sweet Dreams” by the Eurythmics, “Dream Love” by Mariah Carey and others of the same subject played in the background, as members of the team took over the floor.

“We began practicing the routine since what seems like a really long time ago, in November,” freshman Jenna Pavlisko, said.

Team members were required to re-try out to be allowed to perform in the competition. Although all 14 members of the team traveled to Florida, only 12 of the members got the chance to perform for the judges.

“It was a little bit stressful, but in all it was a really great experience,” Pavlisko said. “It was really great to bond as a team and was also a great opportunity to see what the other teams are doing. Watching other people perform is a good way to really see what is going on in the world of dance.”

The cheerleading squad was also happy with its performance this year. Like the dance team, all 25 members of the squad had to re-try out in order to compete.

The squad’s coach, Kelly Shannon, looked for certain tumbling techniques and stunting skills to choose members for this competition; 12 females and four males made the cut.

The routine was choreographed to a mix of dance music, which they began practicing two months before attending the competition.

“It was my first year on the squad, so I was excited to be a part of the competition,” freshman, Kelly Shannon, said. “It was hard because there was competition within the team. It was great to be able to get down to Florida and compete in a big arena on the collegiate level. I did, however, get nervous right before we went on.”