Nov. 6, 2006
Orlando, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - The UCF cheerleading team and dance team, "KnightMoves," will compete for a national title at the 2007 College Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championship at Disney's Wide World of Sports® Jan. 12-14.
The cheerleaders will be making their third appearance at the event, hoping to come away with their second national title, while the dance team makes their second trip, searching for their first title.
Ranked fifth in the South Region, the cheerleading squad received one of the four paid at-large bids into the finals. Of the four schools ranked ahead of UCF, three of them are the only schools to receive at-large paid bids in the rest of the competition which include Tennessee, LSU and Alabama. At the top of the South Region are national champions, Kentucky, who received one of the six automatic bids.
The UCF cheerleaders won the national championship in 2003 and were the runner-up in 2002. The team has finished in the top 10 at the national competition 11 of the last 13 years. Last year, UCF finished fourth out of the final 19 squads.
The five other universities to receive automatic bids are Minnesota, Ohio State, Hawaii, Morehead State and Delaware. An additional 18 schools received invitations, but must pass through the semifinal round.
The 2007 partner stunt competition, which will be held on Friday, January 12, features senior All-American Randy Brown and freshman Kimmy Barker. The pair is currently in third place going into the challenge. In 2006, Brown and his partner Jackie Martin finished third in the nation in the event.
Among the 30 squads invited to the national championship, KnightMoves qualified by tying Illinois for seventh. They are ranked behind LSU, Florida State, Wisconsin, Tennessee, 2006 national champions Minnesota and Cincinnati. All teams must go through the semifinal round, held on January 13. The finals will be held on Sunday, January 14. The team finished fifth in the country in both 2003 and 2004. In last year's competition, KnightMoves tied for eighth out of the 12-team field in the finals.
The finals of the cheerleading competition will be broadcast on ESPN throughout 2007.