Orlando, Fla. - The University of Hawai`i cheer squad pulls out the big guns in a power-packed performance, placing them fifth at the National College Cheerleading Championship this past January. The Cheerleaders are part of a one hour show that airs on ESPN this Sunday afternoon, March 19th, at 12:00 PM (Hawaii Standard Time).
Hawai`i remains a crowd favorite across the country. The UH Cheerleaders held nothing back this year, showing up with a bold routine that showcased skills that could possibly be two, or three years ahead of their time. After shocking the crowd with a near perfect routine earlier in the day, Hawai`i fell short of expectations when a stunt came down late in the routine, followed by a shaky ending in the finals. The University of Kentucky went on to win the title for the third-straight year.
UH was the first and only team in the country to perform a stunt in which the male base uses his right hand to back flip a girl high in the air, catching her landing with his left hand in an extended position above his head. This back flipping stunt is called a "One arm rewind."
"Most people could not believe that Hawai`i was able to catch the one arm rewinds on their left hands," Mike Baker, the UH Cheer coach, said. "We knew that last year's champion might be doing something similar to their right hand, so we decided to one up them by going to our left, we were real happy with the result."
At the touch time given earlier in the day to the Top 9teams that qualified straight into finals, Hawai`i surprised the crowd of thousands with a near perfect routine. After seeing the high level of difficulty, energy and creativity that Hawai`i displayed in the earlier performance, many had UH pegged as the team to beat.
"Leaving the event location after that earlier performance was tough with everyone crowding the team and giving and patting them on the back," Baker said. "It was nice, but it made it even harder for the team to keep their focus."
Later that evening in finals, when Hawai`i took the floor, the on looking crowd was loud with anticipation, having watched the performance from earlier in the day. Hawai`i opened up with a stellar first half, actually improving on the earlier performance. Following a well executed cheer mid-way through the routine UH moved into the final portion of the routine.
In the final 30seconds of the routine, a stunt came down to the ground early. Hawai`i pulled things together to execute three spectacular basket tosses in perfect synchronization and pushed through to keep a bobbled ending pyramid in the air. Even with the mishaps in the second half, the crowd gave one of the loudest ovations of the day.
Next year's team is looking to have a solid class of returning men, while graduating out four outstanding veteran women.
"There were a large number of new and talented males that had to step in and take on the role of veterans this year," Baker said. "Actually, seven of the nine males competing were new to our program." Baker added, "Although, we didn't place as high as we would have liked, it's definitely an honor to be fifth in the nation. As well, our program here at Hawai`i has hit a new high in overall ability levels, as well as potential for the future."
Hawai`i's fifth placing, put them in front of 14 other teams that made it to finals, including LSU, Ohio State, Indiana, Oklahoma, Michigan State, and Penn State. "This team worked extremely hard," Baker said. "I'm very proud of what the team was able to accomplish with so many new people and overcoming a variety of obstacles. The Hawai`i squad was definitely eager to get back home to our own UH fans and start getting ready for next year."
For more information on the competition, go to: http://www.varsity.com/index.asp?article=2184
The competition will be aired on ESPN March 19.
University of Hawai`i Cheerleading Tryouts are April 22, please see the UH website at www.HawaiiAthletics.com for more details.