The Varsity Lady Pommers placed 12th in the nation in the Universal Dance Association’s (UDA) National Dance Team Championship competition last weekend in Disney World.

The team competed in the Large Varsity Hip Hop Category at Semi-Finals and made it through to Finals.

Coach Christine Selander is very proud of the girls setting their goals and achieving them with pride. She said, “The team made a list of goals at the beginning of the season and one of those goals was to make it to finals at Nationals. I am a huge believer that once you set a goal and focus on it you are able to achieve it. That is exactly what this team did.”

The ladies have put in a great amount of effort to make the routine look as perfect as it can get, and that definitely showed on Sunday, February 5 at the Finals Award Ceremony where our Pommers were voted 12th in the nation.

Captain Evangeline Alpogianis is so proud of the team saying, “ Making it that far seemed like it was only a goal to work for, but it was a goal we achieved, which is extremely exciting! It was an awesome feeling being able to stand next to the 17 best teams in the U.S. and fit right in with them.”

After each competition, the team gets feedback from all different types of judges who look at choreography, technique, uniformity, communication and progression. They later go over what needs to be fixed, touched up, or changed to improve the dance presentation and group execution.

Selander said, “ I knew from the beginning that we had a strong routine and a talented team. They worked hard and pushed themselves.”

Next up for the ladies is State Competition in Peoria, IL the first week of March. The Varsity Pommers are slowly beginning to prepare for the intense competition which will determine their placing in the state.