Cheerleading and Dance Place 3rd at National Championships

Daytona Beach, FL- The Bryant University Cheerleading and Dance teams finished in 3rd place in the "Game Day" Division 1 Collegiate National Championships in Daytona Beach, Florida concluding their 2020-2021 season. 

After the 2020 competition was canceled, heading into 2021, Bryant was still defending National Champions after their "Game-Day" win in 2019. In a challenging year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Bryant was the only university in New England to compete in a cheer division in-person at Daytona. For the first time the National Cheerleaders Association and the National Dance Association sponsored both in-person and a virtual competition with separate award shows for each. 

The Bulldogs Game-Day score of 86.6041 was good for 3rd place, losing out to National Champions Southern Methodist University (90.0834) and Runner-Up Jacksonville University (89.2). The Bulldogs improved from their preliminary round score of 85.6167 with a .75 deduction. Overall, the performance given the circumstances, limited practices, and Covid-19 protocols in place was resounding success. 

"Courtney, Rachael, and I are so incredibly proud of our teams and how they pulled together during these unprecedented times," said Cheer and Dance Head Coach Toni Gravel. "For the girls to come together and focus on their routine during the ongoing pandemic is a tribute to their character as individuals. All of that hard work and sacrifice will be a building block to the future of these programs. I want to personally thank Nick Schleicher and the Bryant University administration for allowing us this opportunity. We are so proud and honored to represent Bryant University on a national level and we can't wait to get back to work."

For official results: click here. 

For video recap and interviews with Senior Cheer Captain, Meredith McDonald and Senior Dance Captain, Alexa Silva, please click here

For "Raw" Prelim Routine: Click Here

For "Raw" Finals Routine: Click Here