By Catherine Laroche
The University of Louisville cheerleaders and Ladybirds traveled to Daytona, Fla. to battle more than 175 universities in the Collegiate National Championship, on April 5-6.
The Cardinal spirit groups weeded out their competition as the large co-ed squad, Ladybirds and all-girl stunt group brought home another national championship. The small co-ed and all-girl squads were runners-up in their divisions.
“Everyone would have been so proud as I was to see how we represented U of L,” spirit group coordinator and coach Todd Sharp said.
The large co-ed squad’s national championship came a little harder than usual. As the team was getting the crowd hyped and exchanging words of encouragement amongst each other, the music for their routine began to play before the cheerleaders could get into their places.
“When they started playing our music, no one was ready,” said senior cheerleader Brandon Gwynn. “Our coaches were yelling ‘Stop the music! We want them to start over! They weren’t set!’ but we still hit every stunt. We never missed a beat.”
The Ladybirds’ finals performance was far less controversial.
After claiming the runner-up spot last year, the Cards refused to leave Daytona with anything less than a national championship.
“All I could see was a crowd full of people cheering for us,” junior Ladybird Samantha Tackett said. “And I let my heart and the music carry me through. It is the most priceless feeling when you step off that stage knowing you just had an amazing performance. You are so proud, yet so sad that it’s over.”
The small co-ed and all-girl squads didn’t bring home a national championship, but they didn’t come home empty-handed either. Small co-ed scored a 9.14, just .02 of a point away from taking the top spot, which Oklahoma State University claimed with a score of 9.16. The all-girl squad earned a 9.03, to fall behind the University of Maryland who had a score of 9.11.
“Small co-ed didn’t place as high as we had hoped,” senior small co-ed cheerleader Matthew Goto said, “but we still took a close second place trophy home. If nothing else, we grew as a team. We are closer than we had been before and stronger as a team because of it.”
Overall, everyone is proud of the way U of L was represented at the Collegiate National Championship, especially the veterans who had been in their shoes years before, but now get to cheer for the Cardinal spirit groups offstage.
“I thought every team performed excellent,” senior psychology student and former large co-ed cheerleader Steven Fackler said. “I’ve never seen Louisville spirit groups look more prepared for a national event. Louisville performs with their heart and soul. It’s more like watching a show on Broadway or a rock concert than a cheer routine.”
The large co-ed, Ladybirds and all-girl stunt group added to the Louisville spirit resume, as the dynasty program now holds 29 national championships.
“We work so incredibly hard all year for those two indescribable minutes of pure glory,” Tackett said, “and it has finally paid off with a well deserved national championship.”
The spirit groups now enjoy their success for a couple of weeks before working on next year’s national championship routine.
