ORLANDO, Fla. – The UCF cheer team finished national runner-up in the Cheer Division 1A at the UCA College Cheerleading National Championships Wednesday evening at the ESPN Wide World of Sports.
Orlando's Hometown Team competed in the semifinals of the competition on Tuesday, where they placed fifth with an 84.4 performance score, with six points of deductions on a 90.4 raw score.
In the final round on Wednesday evening, the team hit a perfect routine on the biggest stage and with no deductions the Knights earned a 93.7 performance score. The 93.7 was the highest scoring routine of the entire competition in Division 1A. Unfortunately, the flawless performance wasn't enough to overcome the missteps in the first round.
The Knights cheer team finished as the National Runner-Up with an 89.05 event score in the Cheer Division 1A competition. The top five included South Florida, UCF, Kentucky, Liberty and Ole Miss.
The second-place performance continues the trend of top finishes for one of the nation's most elite programs. The program has now placed in the Top 10 of the College Cheerleading National Championships 25 times in the last 27 years under head coach Linda Gooch, including national titles in 2003, 2007, and 2020.
Final results from the UCA College Cheerleading National Championships can be found here.
FOLLOW THE KNIGHTS
Get social with the cheerleading team on Twitter (@UCF_CheerTeam), Instagram (@UCF.CheerTeam), and Facebook (/UCFCheerTeam)