Dance team wins second straight national title
4/30/2021 8:36:00 AM | General
ORLANDO, FLA. - The old adage goes "history is doomed to repeat itself."
For the St. Cloud State University dance team, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. The Huskies won their second consecutive Universal Dance Association (UDA) National Championship Wednesday evening, as they were crowned the top team in the Open Gameday competition at the 2021 UDA College Cheerleading & Dance Team National Championships at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida for the second consecutive season. The team also earned the top score and was crowned the national champion in the Open Pom competition.
"Our season was anything but normal, and our girls handled every barrier with grace and resilience," said co-head coach Brittany Kwallek. "I was given a top-ranking program by [our] former coaches. As a coach and alumni myself, I strive to continue the legacy of the SCSU Dance Team, make our alumni proud and bring pride to our University. This is another historic moment for our program, and I can't wait to begin training for the next."
"Our team motto this year was 'whatever it takes', and our team was the epitome of what that means," co-head coach Paige Groebner commented in a statement. "I couldn't be more proud of how these women represent themselves, our team and the University."Â
St. Cloud State was the top seeded team in the competition having won the national championship in 2020 prior to the COVID-19 shutout. In the Open Gameday Competition, the Huskies scored a raw score of 90 in prelims, which was the top in the College Division by a wide margin. In fact, the team that finished second in the prelims, Northwest Missouri State, scored a mere 84.5333 points in the initial round, giving St. Cloud State a large margin lead heading into the final round. The Huskies did even better in finals than prelims, winning the competition with an event score of 90.4084.
The race was tighter in the Open Pom event, as the top two teams were within .6 of each other after the preliminary round. St. Cloud State was once again the top team in the competition, as the team tallied a 86.5167 first round score. The Bearcats, though, were hot on the Huskies tales, as Northwest Missouri State earned a first round score of 85.85, heightened the tension in the performance venue entering finals.Â
Like in the Open Gameday Competition, St. Cloud State proved to be too powerful in finals. The Huskies earned a raw score of 89.0667 for a performance score of 89.0667. After combining with the preliminary score, St. Cloud State won the competition with an event score of 87.7917, a full point and a half ahead of the Bearcats.Â
The Huskies also competed in the Open Jazz competition, as they finished in third with a two round score of 86.65.Â
