The Oregon team stunts and gymnastics squad will compete in the National Cheerleaders Association National Championships in Daytona Beach, Fla., today and tomorrow.
The team will compete at 9:10 a.m. today in the preliminary round before the final competition is held at 5:50 p.m. on Friday. The format for the competition will differ from Oregon’s two home meets this season, with the Ducks showcasing only their traditional team routine.
“It feels good,” Oregon head coach Felecia Mulkey said. “It feels good to be back in Daytona for competition.”
The NCA National Championships are a multi-divisional competitive cheerleading competition that runs over the course of nine days at the Daytona Beach Bandshell. Oregon will be competing in the All-Girl IA Division along with Michigan State, Penn State, N.C. State, South Carolina, Maryland, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Georgia, Illinois and defending national champion Louisville.
Maryland and Louisville have dominated the sport over the past decade, winning nine national titles between the two programs. Prior to Louisville’s win in 2009, Maryland had won three straight championships. Before that, Louisville took home top honors from 2001-2005.
“Well, they’ve only won nine times in a row because Oregon’s not been competing,” Mulkey said with a laugh. “This sport is just so dominant on the East Coast — it’s just so much bigger. They’re just established and have been around for a while.”
The last time Oregon faced competition comparable to the NCA’s was back on Feb. 7 at the Cheersport Nationals in Atlanta, Ga., where Louisville took first in that meet with a score of 867.9, while Maryland placed second at 846.6, and the Ducks trailed in third at 840.
Oregon has not lost a meet since then, picking up four straight first-place finishes. Its most recent win came on March 14 at the Pac-West St. Paddy’s Open. The Ducks tallied 177.5 points out of a possible 200 to take home top honors despite being down three normal starters in their 24-person team routine.
Of the 30 members on the Ducks roster, only the seven women who followed Mulkey from Kennesaw State University have competed in the NCA National Championships before. Those seven are seniors Tori Mayard and Jacquie Svadeba, juniors Kimberly Lopez, Britta LeBlanc, Ashley Dawson and Marly Campos, and sophomore Mercedez Toles.
“I’m really proud of how far this team has come in one year.” Mulkey said. “It’s anybody’s game. It’s like that movie ‘Any Given Sunday,’ you know — any given Friday.”
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