By Buddy Pearson, TTU News and Communications Director
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech dance and cheer teams, along with mascot Awesome Eagle, have been recognized on a national level.
Competing in the Universal Cheerleaders Association & Universal Dance Association College Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championships held recently at ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando, Fla., Tech's spirit groups finished in the top 10 in the nation in their respective categories.
Awesome Eagle finished second only to the University of Delaware's YoUDee in the Mascot Open category.
The Tech dance team placed eighth overall in the Division I Pom category while the Golden Eagle cheerleaders finished ninth in the nation in the Division I Small Coed division.
"I'm extremely proud of the teams," said Jordan Benedict, Tech spirit programs coordinator. "We practiced a lot more this year and it paid off."
Benedict, who is in her second year at the helm of the spirit programs, said she takes the same approach to coaching her student-athletes like any other coach at Tech. She works them hard and expects results.
"I was able to instill a lot of expectations from the start. We had 6 a.m. workouts. I saw a huge difference in practice," Benedict said. "I told them to forget everything they have ever known about college cheerleading because I was going to treat them like every other college athlete."
The new approach resonated with the spirit squad members.
"We felt prepared because of all the work we had put in. We practiced for countless hours and we knew it was going to pay off," said junior sociology major Bree Long, who is a member of the cheerleading squad. "When we walked off that stage after hitting our routine, that was the moment everything was worth it."
"We went in with complete confidence that we could make finals and be a top-in-the-nation team," said Alexa Overbey, who is a senior interdisciplinary studies major on the dance team. "Achieving that goal was the greatest feeling in the world."
Benedict says that the spirit squads have set a new standard at Tennessee Tech. She believes with good recruiting and a lot of practice, they should do well at nationals on a regular basis.
"I'll be honest, I think I do feel a little pressure to do better next year," Benedict said. "But I'm not really worried about it because I know that we will do better."
