The University of Mississippi Athletics
Spirit Squads Compete At National Competition
1/19/2011 | Athletics
Jan. 19, 2011
BLOG: Spirit Squad Highlights (Video)
OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss Cheerleaders and Rebelettes traveled to Orlando this past weekend to compete in the Universal Cheerleaders Association/Universal Dance Association National Championships, with both teams turning in solid performances at the weekend event.
The two squads felt prepared as they headed to Orlando on Thursday January 13th for national competition that would take place on Saturday and Sunday, according to Spirit Coordinator Amanda Hoppert.
"On Friday both groups had good practices at the competition venues and other teams were starting to watch us which was neat," Hoppert said.
Competition began on Saturday with the Rebelettes competing at 1 pm in Hip Hop. The team did well and hit their routine but placed 13th out of 21 just out of the finals - the ranking tied the Rebelettes' highest finish in hip hop, they finished 13th in 2009.
"Dance, especially hip hop, is so subjective but we were proud of how the girls performed," Hoppert said.
The next of the Ole Miss teams to compete was the cheerleaders that night during semi-finals. There were eight teams that went straight to finals, but out of the 11 teams in semi-finals the cheerleaders hit their routine and placed first.
"I was so proud of the kids for hitting their routine, it was a goal of ours to place first in the semifinals and we did just that," said first year cheer coach Trey Griffin.
The night ended with the Rebelettes' jazz routine. After finishing ninth in the jazz competition a year ago, the Rebelettes entered the weekend with a goal of placing higher this year.
"We have even more talent this year and hoped to place even higher this year and let everyone know that we are in the top 10 to stay," said Rebelette coach Jamie Weave.
The Rebelettes had a great performance and ended the night in 8th place out of 29 and made it to the finals.
"We were nervous because we were the last name they called and then to go in as 8th place was amazing," said senior Hanna Tiep.
During the routine Garrett McDonald, a sophomore, broke two toes half way through but finished the routine. After treatment overnight, it was determined she would not be able to perform in the finals.
On Sunday morning the Rebelettes re-worked their routine down a member. The team came together, and in finals on late Sunday afternoon performed well. They finished 10th overall.
"I was impressed by how well the team came together, almost everyone had to learn a new part in the dance and they performed wonderfully considering the circumstances. We are still in the top 10," Hoppert said.
The last event of the weekend was the Division 1A Cheer Finals. The Rebels had drawn the final competition slot of the afternoon.
"There was a lot of hype around us because we had done so well the night before but we were all excited about it," Hoppert said.
The Ole Miss Cheerleaders came out and started their routine, hitting everything. But 30 seconds into the performance, Johnny Beasly took a misstep and tore his ACL and MCL. No one knew what had happened at the time and everyone just kept going through the routine. One girl even tried to pick him up but he couldn't get up. The routine was stopped, Beasley was taken off the mat by stretcher and the team had 15 minutes to regroup.
"Trey took care of Johnny, while I talked to the rest of the kids." Hoppert said. "We made a split second decision and put in Jake Pearce - the alternate. He did not even bring his uniform to the venue so he got Johnny's white top and then had red pants on."
Back in the warm up room while the team was changing the routine, two Mississippi State and two Alabama cheerleaders came to cheer the team on and do anything to help. An Alabama Cheerleader lent his white pants, and someone else gave Pearce shoes as well.
The team came back out 20 minutes after the accident to the whole crowd yelling "Let's Go Rebels". The Ole Miss Cheerleaders were wiping away tears as they started their routine for the second time that night. They got through the first half and the cheer, but Jake - who had not been practicing in nearly four weeks - could not keep his stamina up for the ending.
The crowd gave the team a standing ovation as the team went back to watch the video of the performance. Nearly everyone had tears streaming down their face.
"Trey and I tried to look at the bright side. There was nothing we could do about the injury," Hoppert said. "It was amazing how the cheer community came together to rally for us in the end."
The cheerleaders ended up finishing 14th, just beating Cincinnati. Alabama won the competition, beating long time winner Kentucky who finished second. Central Florida placed third.