ORLANDO, Fla. — The LSU Cheerleaders and Tiger Girls Dance Team once again proved that LSU has the nation’s top spirit program. Competing at the Universal Cheerleaders and Dance Associations’ Collegiate Championships at Disney’s Wide World of Sports, LSU brought home national runner-up and seventh place finishes in dance, and a fifth place finish in cheer.
The combined finishes of LSU’s Spirit Squads were the highest of all Division I-A universities competing in all three categories.
The Tiger Girls kicked off the day with a second-place finish in the Hip-Hop category. Performing a routine choreographed by the team’s coaches and a former Tiger Girl, the Tiger Girls showcased their creativity and ingenuity throughout a fast-paced, action-packed routine that included full-team head and hand stands, team-partner back flips and many unique formations and transitions.
Cincinnati claimed the Hip-Hop title while two-time defending national champion Memphis finished third. The Tiger Girls later finished seventh in the Dance/Jazz category, which was won by Tennessee.
Following the completion of the dance championships, the Tigers cheerleaders took to the mat.
The squad started strong with impressive tumbling passes which lead into the Elite portion of the routine. Despite a bobble on the following hitch pyramid, the cheerleaders finished strong with an impressive cheer and IME sequence that included full-ups to liberties and double-full basket tosses. The routine concluded with “tarzan” dual pyramids, which saw two girls being tossed into the air while being swung around another girl and landing on her thigh in a one-one-one hitch.
The fifth-place finish was a spot up from LSU’s 2008 finish. Kentucky and Alabama finished first and second, respectively.
The UCA/UDA Collegiate Championships will air on ESPN2 on Feb. 15 at 11 a.m. CST.
The LSU Cheerleaders and Tiger Girls will be back cheering on the Tigers this week when men’s basketball team plays host to Mississippi State on Wednesday at 7 p.m. followed by the women’s basketball game on Thursday evening at 7.