The SMU Pom team looks to dance their way to their third national championship in four years in the Open Division this week in Daytona Beach, Fla.
The SMU co-ed cheer team will be looking to improve upon their second place finish in last year’s NCA and NDA National Collegiate Cheer and Dance Championship as part of the small co-ed division.
“Coming in second to Louisville by a very small margin last year has only made us realize how important it is to not be complacent with our routine,” said senior Sara Bedford. “Unlike Louisville, we have nothing to lose and are ready to put it all out there and most of all have a blast!”
For the cheerleaders, 16 females and four males will have two and half minutes to perfectly execute stunt sequences complete with flexible body contortions, flips and twists as part of the tumbling portion of the routine and then a series of jumps, pyramids and a short dance routine.
Preliminaries will be on Thursday evening, when SMU competes against reigning champion Louisville, Oklahoma State University and the University of Colorado. The Mustangs, should they make it past prelims, will compete in the final round on Friday.
For the Pom squad, the performers have two minutes and 15 seconds to perform a flawless and graceful routine to the team’s chosen song, ” Gravity of Love.” Complete with turns, leaps, sharp motions and clean transitions, the dancers have three years of pressure weighing on them as the try to defend their title.
The scoring comes down to a panel of judges, with the lowest and highest scores being dropped from the average. As judges are used to hearing the same series of songs over and over (think “Low” for cheerleading and “Man in the Mirror” for dance), the SMU Pom squad tried for a different approach in this year’s routine.
“Usually, we dance to a combination of three songs,” explained Heather Maule-Finch. “It’s an awesome change and we are so excited about it! Hopefully the judges appreciate the originality, style and intensity that we are bringing this year.”
Set on the Bandshell just off Daytona Beach, both teams will be competing against hundreds of college teams from all over the country. SMU Pom performs Thursday night in the preliminary round, and if they advance, will compete in the final round Friday morning.
“It’s the most incredible rush I’ve ever had,” said Maule-Finch about competing on the Bandshell. “We jump higher, turn better, dance harder and yell louder than we ever do in practice because we have so much adrenaline!”
For Bedford, who is graduating in May, this will be her last chance to perform as a Mustang. “You’re a few steps away from the beach on an incredible stage and every person on Daytona Beach is screaming for you!”
