UD Cheerleading (1998-99 Year in Review)

A Review of the 1998-99 Year

Don't miss our foto gallery with tons of pictures!

The competitive Delaware cheerleading season begins every year in August. All members are expected to come back after a short summer in top form ready to practice hard and compete at the regional cheerleading camp held at Rutgers University. The 1998-99 team placed first in the Fight Song and Sideline competitions and took second in the Cheer category. Delaware was clearly the best in the northeast region.

This gave us a great start heading into football season. Taking our top six couples to away games such as Youngstown State and Connecticut enabled us to practice elite skills we planned on using in our Nationals routine. The football team had two very close games against Villanova and William & Mary.

Unfortunately, they didn't make it to the playoffs. Both Blue and Gold cheerleading teams had great seasons. The Blue team even did a segment with Vai Sekahema for the "Vai's Challenge" show at a home football game!

Our next competitive situation we encountered was taping for Nationals. We had to submit a videotape including a cheer, a sideline, and elite skills such as tumbling, stunting, pyramids, and basket tosses. It was one week of long practices and hard work. In the end it paid off -- we received a fourth place ranking and a paid bid to Nationals in Orlando, Florida!

While finishing football season and beginning basketball season, we were also putting the finishing touches on our Nationals routine. We performed in front of Blue Hen basketball fans numerous times to prepare both physically and mentally for the pressure we'd face at Nationals. This year we had a sports psychologist -- we call him "Doc" -- and he helped us out tremendously. We participated in many team-building exercises that helped our team become a cohesive unit.

When we went to Nationals, we faced many unexpected obstacles. We were dealt the unlucky positioning of going first in our division! Our first pyramid was an instant Wolfwall with an additional person on the shoulders of the center man. To start off our routine, we were all squatting on the ground getting ready to put up the pyramid. Unfortunately, there were technical difficulties with the music and we were in the crouched position for 49 long seconds. Despite all the obstacles we faced, we still did the best job possible and finished THIRD in the nation! :-D

After Nationals, we continued to cheer for the successful men's and women's basketball teams. The men finished the regular season 25-6 and were off to the NCAA regional tournament in Charlotte, North Carolina. We cheered for the game in Charlotte Coliseum against the Tennessee Vols. Throughout the year we also attended many public relations events including Walk for Diabetes, Reading Day at Thurgood Marshall Elementary, and visits to the Veterans Hospital. Every year we are asked to perform in Philadelphia's Thanksgiving Day Parade, but this year we were rained out. :-(
Overall our year was very successful. It's a huge accomplishment for a team in the northeast to place in the top three in the country. We hope to continue on this path in 1999-2000 and reach for number one! ~ Carolyn Kevil '99, Davin Rudy '99 and Jeff Martino '99, captains ~

Angie Baffone
Jamie Bustard
Abbie Ciarmella
Veronica Carr
Mindy Galella
Jeff Hillenmayer
Carolyn Kevil
Christy Lion
Jeff Martino
Kerry McMahon

Christie Melton
Todd Molinary
John Pikulski
Jami Reish
James Romesberg
Davin Rudy
Kevin Seabury
Scott Tillman
Taylor Watkins
Courtney Wilczynski
Cocca Zambelli

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