Cheerleaders place 10th in nation

As the first Ivy League team to qualify for the Universal Cheerleading Association Intercollegiate National Championship, the varsity cheerleaders took 10th in their division January 10. For co-captains Aamir Shidli, a College senior, and Eden Houser, a Nursing senior, qualifying for the tournament was an accomplishment in itself. Up against nationally competitive teams, the varsity squad went into the competition expecting little. "It was a great accomplishment for us just to compete on a national level with no experience," Shidli said. "But being able to perform in the finals and taking 10th in the nation was just amazing." The victory was especially sweet since earlier in the year the squad agreed to make the competition a collective goal -- requiring the cheerleaders to practice twice a day during finals and much of winter break. And Houser noted that the intensity of the practice sessions in preparation for the championship was noticeably stronger than in years before. "From watching past competition videos to refining routines, everything was nationals-focused," she said. Since the University does not recruit its cheerleaders, cheerleading coach Marci Sartor said the squad's success came from hard work and not just raw talents. She added that the team's commitment was especially admirable given Penn's focus on academics. "I have a deep sense of admiration for them for being able to carry the Ivy academic workload and still achieve national title," Sartor said. No Ivy team had ever placed at the national competition before Penn --and that was to be expected, according to Sartor. The heavy academic workload and the lack of financial support from the schools keep most Ivy teams from competing with state universities. In this year's competition, all the teams that placed above Penn had monetary incentives in forms of scholarships or travel expenses, according to Sartor. Penn had none. "People were very impressed to see a school that concentrates on academics -- that does not recruit or give out athletic scholarships -- qualify for nationals and even make it to the finals," team member and College junior Tammy Roy said. The squad attributes much of its success to Sartor, a member of the University of Pittsburgh team that took first at the same competition in 1992. Since then, her goal as a coach has been to take her team to the same competition. Not only did Sartor achieve her personal goal through the varsity team, but she also marked a place in Penn cheerleading history as part of the first Ivy squad to compete at nationals. "Over the last four years, the varsity team has worked diligently and improved by the year," she said. "I had a very talented squad this year and I knew that if we would go to nationals, it would be this year." Houser said Sartor's experience prepared the team for what to expect -- most of the cheerleaders had never competed on a national level.