Alabama Cheer and Dance Compete in UCA & UDA National Championships
1/20/2019 10:30:00 PM | Spirit Squads
ORLANDO, Fla. – The University of Alabama's cheer and dance squads competed at the UCA and UDA National Championships this past weekend at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
The Crimson Tide cheer teams placed third in the co-ed category and sixth in the all-girl, while the dance team placed seventh in hip-hop and 11th in jazz. Alabama was the only school to have cheer squads in both finals and dance teams in the hip-hop and jazz finals categories. In the dance finals, LSU and San Diego State were the only other teams besides Alabama to compete in both hip-hop and jazz.
"Although we didn't achieve our ultimate goal of bringing national titles back to Tuscaloosa this year, we still competed at a high level and will use it as motivation to work harder next year," UA director of spirit programs Jennifer Thrasher said.
"I am so incredibly proud of our dance program and the progress they have made. To final in both the jazz and hip-hop divisions is a huge accomplishment and a step in the right direction for our program."
"We are thrilled to have made it to the finals in both D1A hip-hop and jazz," UA dance team coordinator Morgan Williams said. "It is such an honor to be recognized among the top teams in the nation. It was an exciting weekend for the Alabama dance team and we loved being able to represent the Crimson Tide on the finals stage."
"These athletes work extremely hard throughout the year to prepare for nationals and we just didn't have our best performances today," Thrasher said about the cheer finals. "Both teams continue to represent the University in a way that makes us very proud."
The three-day competition took place at ESPN's Wide World of Sports, with teams from across the country at all levels participated in the prestigious event. Teams were judged based on stunting, tumbling skills, crowd-leading abilities and overall performance.
