Feb. 7, 2010

ATLANTA, Ga. -

The Maryland competitive cheer team finished in second place out of 12 teams Sunday in the Cheersport nationals competition at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. The Terps, competing in the College All-Girl 6 division, earned an overall score of 846.6 for their performances Saturday and Sunday.

"I thought we did a great job of keeping momentum after a very long and strenuous weekend with competing three times," head coach Jarnell Bonds said. "We had outstanding leadership from our two captains, Joanna Venezia and Lauren Louis."

The Terrapins' running tumbling was one of the strongest of the competition. Maryland, known for being a tumbling powerhouse, earned perfect scores of 10.0 from four out of the five judges. Junior Season Daugherty excelled in both her standing and running tumbling skills after returning from a recent injury and freshman Erin Guthrie performed her tumbling skills to perfection as well.

The team from Louisville claimed the Cheersport title with a score of 867.9, while University of Oregon competitive cheer got an 840.0. Fairmont State, who will be competing in College Park next weekend at the Terps' home competition, finished fourth with an 829.1. N.C. State rounded out the division's top five with an 826.0.

After the first round on Saturday morning, the Terrapins were in second to Louisville with a score of 419.7 to Louisville's 430.9. During its Saturday performance, Maryland's music cut out, causing some technical difficulties.

The Terrapins will host their own NCSTA meet next Saturday, Feb. 13 at 10 a.m. in Comcast Center.  Teams from James Madison, Morgan State and Fairmont State will all be competing. College teams will begin competing at 11:00 a.m. Tickets for adults (11 & up) are $15.00. Tickets for Maryland students (must show student ID) and children between the ages of 6-10 are $7.00. Children 5 and under are free.

-Go Terps-