Feb. 17, 2008

ATLANTA, Ga. - The Maryland competitive cheer team took second place at the Cheersport nationals competition Sunday afternoon in Atlanta at the Georgia World Congress Center. The Terps finished second out of eight teams in their College Open All Girl Level 6 division.

Gymtyme Louisville of Louisville, Ky., won the division, after taking first place over the Terps after the first day of competition Saturday. The Terps suffered a few stunting errors during their second performance of the weekend Sunday afternoon.

The team from Kennesaw State University, who placed third at NCA nationals behind the Terps and University of Louisville last spring, finished third in the competition. North Carolina State's team took fourth, followed by USA Wildcats, Virginia Tech, Newberry College and University of Florida, respectively.

"This will be a good motivator for us," said head coach Jarnell Bonds, "if you don't hit your routine, you can't expect to win. Not one of our girls that made mistakes intended to make them, it's just more hard work needed to prepare so that we don't feel like this again. We've proven that if we hit, our routine is difficult enough and visual enough to win. It's a matter of consistency and execution."

Senior captain Natalie Booher said, "After this weekend, everyone will know that we need to fight every time we compete. We'll be that much better because we still have that `Wow'-factor."

Senior Janelle Corrie said, "NCA Nationals in April will be take-two with Maryland and Louisville."

The Cheersport nationals competition is the largest cheerleading competition in the world, with over 900 teams from over 40 states competing on eight stages over the course of two days.

The Terrapins will compete again on March 8 at the Battle at the Capitol in Fairfax, Va.