Jan. 8, 2007
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - The UCF cheerleading squad and KnightMoves dance team are gearing up to compete in the 2007 College Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championship, which takes place at Walt Disney World from Jan. 12-14.
"Physically the team is prepared," said UCF head coach Linda Gooch. "They worked very hard in the off season with our strength coach and that has really paid off keeping us relatively injury free. We had four senior girls that graduated last year but the three true freshmen girls that have stepped in are performing like veterans. We have a true freshman on top of every pyramid."
Two pairs of Golden Knights start off the weekend on Friday at MGM Studios as they perform in the partner stunt competition at 8:30 p.m. The duo of senior Randy Brown (Tampa, Fla.) and freshman Kimmy Barker (St. Petersburg, Fla.) is ranked third going into the event, while senior Chris Stadler (Orlando, Fla.) and freshman Lauren Whitt (Orlando, Fla.) are unranked.
"This is the first time that Chris and Lauren have been selected to participate," said Gooch. "They have kept their routine simple and are looking to use this experience in front of a crowd to help them build their confidence for our team performance."
On Saturday, KnightMoves will be one of 30 squads competing for a spot in the Division IA Open finals, which take place on Sunday at 3 p.m. The squad was invited to the semifinals after tying Illinois for seventh in the rankings. UCF finished as high as fifth in both 2003 and 2004, but settled for eighth place last year.
Some members of KnightMoves will also compete in the new optional Hip Hop division on Sunday at 12:30 p.m.
"We did this to involve and help develop our dancers who were not on the team that qualified for nationals," said Gooch. "This will give them some experience in competition.
Ranked fifth in the south region, the cheerleading squad was one of four to receive an automatic at-large bid into Sunday's 24-teamfinal, which begins at 5 p.m. The Golden Knights served as runner-up in 2002 before winning the national title in 2003. They took fourth in the field of 19 schools last year.
"This year's routine is creative with three new tricks that have never been performed in competition," said Gooch. "We have a lot of difficulty built in our partner stunts and baskets which we hope will earn us some points with the judges."
Sunday's event finals are all held at Disney's Wide World of Sports®. Tickets are available as a two-day pass at the gate. Adults are $27.75 and children (ages 9 and below) are $20.25.
Those fans that are unable to attend the competition at Disney World are invited to attend the Golden Knights' final practice prior to the event on Thursday, Jan. 11 from 4-6 p.m. at the Education Building Gymnasium. Both the cheer and dance teams will perform.
For the latest news and information on the Golden Knights, tickets or apparel log on to www.ucfathletics.com - the official site for UCF athletics.