In case you missed it, the UMass Boston cheerleading team made history last week competing in the Intermediate All-Girl Division III National Championship down in Daytona. The competition consisted of 18 teams competing over the course of two days. The first day of the competition was worth 25 percent of the teams’ final scores and the second day was worth a whopping 75 percent of the teams’ final scores.
Senior cheerleader Emily Ireland described her experience and preparation leading up to the trip to Daytona: “We practiced three days a week all semester at a gym in Weymouth, including the two days prior to the competition.” She even went on to mention that the squad had to change their routine multiple times over the course of the semester, including just one week prior to the competition, making things very stressful on the team.
The Beacons arrived in Daytona last Tuesday and they competed on Thursday and Friday. Here is what Ireland had to say about their first day of the competition: “There was a point where I felt like passing out, I was so nervous. The lights were so bright, and the crowd was huge, but I was able to calm down once it was time to perform.” She mentioned that one thing that hurt the Beacons on day one was their morale while competing. Being able to constantly keep a smile on your face throughout a strenuous routine can undoubtedly be a tough feat.
The second day for the Beacons went about just as good as it could have. “We actually performed a perfect routine right before we went on to compete. Then, when it was time for us to perform, we put up a near perfect score,” Ireland said. “The morale on day two was much better than on day one.”
The Beacons would go on to finish with a final score of 91.79 which would be good enough for fourth place in the competition. The Beacons were just .11 points away from securing a third place trophy, as Salisbury University finished with a final score of 91.9. The second place team was Fitchburg State University with a final score of 94.48, and the first place team was Bridgewater State University who finished with a final score of 97.37.
An interesting fact about Bridgewater State University is that this is the first year that they competed in the Intermediate All-Girl Division III Championship. In fact, just last year, Bridgewater State University won the Advanced All-Girl Division III Championship, so it is interesting that they moved down to intermediate after winning the advanced competition just a year ago. One would think that they would head back up to the advanced competition after winning the intermediate competition this year.
Nonetheless, coming in fourth place out of 18 teams in a competition that UMass Boston had never previously been a part of is no small achievement. Even though it wasn’t the result they were looking for, at the end of the day the Beacons should still be proud of what they achieved this year, as they have officially opened the door to several generations of cheerleaders after them to succeed at UMass Boston. So, congratulations to the UMass Boston cheer team on making history!