Georgia Southern Cheerleaders Win Back-to-Back National Titles

April 17, 2015

The Georgia Southern University all-girl cheerleading squad secured its fifth national championship title on Friday, April 10, at the 2015 National Cheerleading Association (NCA) Collegiate National Championships held in Daytona Beach, Florida.

The squad of 20 girls performed a solid routine during the final round of competition, which earned them the highest score of 84.43 out of 100, beating squads from Saint Joseph University, the University of Florida, East Carolina University and Texas A&M University.

“I think our success shows that we are one of the top-notch cheerleading programs in the United States,” said Barry Munkasy, head coach. “We compete at a level that is commensurate with our ability and do very well at that level.”

This was the all-girl squad’s fifth national win in the Intermediate All-girl Division in the last seven years. This made the squad back-to-back champions as well after winning the title in 2014.

All of their success did not come easy, though, according to Taylor Ramey, sophomore cheerleader.

“After nine months of hard work, sacrifice and countless hours put in behind the scenes, I can now say that two practices a day, ice baths, running Hanner and full out routines back-to-back was all worth it to be a two-time national champion,” said Ramey. “When it was announced, I became so overloaded with joy that I bawled my eyes out.”

In addition to the all-girl squad’s success, the co-ed squad achieved national recognition as well with a fifth place finish in its respective division, competing against squads from the  University of Michigan, Southern Methodist University, the University of Texas San Antonio, and Middle Tennessee State University.

“They gave it their best effort, but sometimes things just don’t go perfectly,” said Munkasy. “And in theses cases, they must go perfectly in order to win.”

Although the all-girl squad’s national championship win is still sinking in, Munkasy said the program is already thinking about next year’s national championship competition and how they want to sweep national titles in both the all-girl and co-ed divisions.

“Our first major goal is for all-girl to do our first 3-peat,” said Munkasy. “Our second major goal is to find a way to help the co-ed team win their first national championships.”

Results for Nationals 2015 can be found here: http://www.varsity.com/event/1931/2015_nca_nda_college.

Georgia Southern University, a public Carnegie Doctoral/Research University founded in 1906, offers more than 125-degree programs serving more than 20,500 students. Through eight colleges, the University offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs built on more than a century of academic achievement. Georgia Southern is recognized for its student-centered and hands-on approach to education.