NCSU Cheer and Dance to hold open rehearsal

The University’s cheerleading and dance teams will hold open dress rehearsal Sunday

Adair-Hayes Crane

Staff Writer

Fans will be able to go support the N.C. State Cheerleading and Dance teams Sunday while they prepare to head for nationals put on by the National Cheerleaders Association, in Daytona, Florida.

The teams will hold an open dress rehearsal in Reynolds Coliseum from 3:15 p.m. until 8 p.m.

The all-girl team will perform from 3:15 to 4, the dance team from 4:30 to 5:30, and the coed team and Mr. and Ms. Wuf will perform from 6 to 7:30.

Samantha Poulos, a freshman in communication and a member of the small co-ed cheerleading team, said she is looking forward to being part of the N.C. State cheerleading tradition.

“The dress rehearsal has always been a big part of NCSU cheerleading history and it’s really exciting to be making history,” Poulos said.

Harold Trammel, coach for the large co-ed team, said the dress rehearsal gives the cheerleaders, dancers and mascots an opportunity to gain support from the student body, friends and family. The cheerleaders will get the chance to be cheered for rather than cheering on another team.

“We’ve always had a pretty good turnout. There are a bunch of former cheerleaders that love to still be involved in the program and are excited about the program itself,” Trammel said. “I like to give the cheerleaders, dancers and mascots the opportunity to have support from the student body and their friends and family because we’ll be getting down in front of lots of people at competition.”

Kelly Smith, coach for the advanced all-girl team and a coach at Cheer Extreme gym in Raleigh, said the dress rehearsal gives the teams a chance to perform under pressure.

“Certain people perform one way in practice and they’ll do more in front of a crowd. It’s a little different when their parents come to watch them. They want to perform well for them,” Smith said. “Our goal is trying to make everyone prepare for nationals and leave with a good feeling about it.”

Tiffany Haupt, a senior in communication and a cheerleader for the advanced all-girl team, said she is looking forward to competing in Nationals this year since it will be her last chance to perform.

“As a senior it’s my last time I’ll ever cheer at Nationals so it means a lot to me. Last year we got third at Nationals, and this year we’re going back to prove ourselves,” Haupt said. “We want to do better. We worked hard and have had a lot of injuries, [but] we’ve come a long way this year.”

The first year Smith took the all-girl team to Nationals three years ago they made the finals. The second year she took them they got fifth place. Last year they placed third which, according to Smith, is almost like coming in first because the teams who placed first and second have been switching off who wins for as long as she can remember.

Smith referred to the University of Maryland and the University of Louisville as the two powerhouse teams who always seem to come in first and second.

She said keeping up their reputation at Nationals would be marvelous for the all-girl team, after placing in the top five the last two years. According to Poulos, the team’s motto is “Stop believing, start knowing.”

Trammel said he hopes to see his team hit their routine at Nationals.

“The goal for Nationals is always to hit our routine and perform well. You can’t really determine if you win or not,” Trammel said. “Any time we hit our routine we’re happy with how we finish.”

The dress rehearsal will run differently from the previous years because each team will have a set block of time to perform their routine several times. In the past they have all gone back-to-back once and then have had a chance to do it again if they wanted.

“All the teams are so excited to get down there and just hit great routines,” Poulos said.

Mary Elizabeth Mitchell, a freshman on the large co-ed team, will be performing at collegiate Nationals for the first time. “I’m really excited to finally show everyone that comes out to watch the dress rehearsal all that we’ve been working on for nationals,” Mitchell said.

The second round of the NCA Collegiate Nationals is held outdoors and typically has a big turnout with teams competing from around the United States. Both coaches said they hope to have a big turnout at the dress rehearsal to get the teams prepared to perform in front of such a large crowd.

“The more the merrier,” Smith said. “Even if you’ve never watched cheerleading it is really entertaining and worth the while to come out.”

All three teams will head to Nationals in Daytona April 7 until April 11.