ORLANDO, Fla. – For the third year in a row, a Universal Cheerleaders Association National Championship is coming back to Sacred Heart University. The Pioneers defended their title in the Open All-Girl Game Day division at the Disney Wide World of Sports Complex.

Sacred Heart led after the preliminaries with a score of 96.1, holding a 1.6-point advantage over the University of Rhode Island. The Pioneers were even better in the finals, scoring a 96.73 to the Rams' 95.00.
"It's an amazing feeling," head coach CJ Sereno said. "It takes a little bit to sink in that we're National Champions. When they're announcing the results it's an emotional roller coaster. You freeze each time they announce a team's name. You just hope that it isn't you so that you can keep climbing in the ranks."
 
SHU beat out 16 other teams to win its second-straight All-Girl Game Day crown and the third overall. The Traditional squad finished fifth out of 15 teams.
 
Similar to gymnastics or figure skating, the scoring is done by a group of judges who have multiple sets of criteria. The Game Day routine is broken down into fight song, sideline cheer and timeout. Within each category, there are points for materials used, skills, execution. Only the top half of each division makes it to the finals later that day.
 
Preparation starts months in advance when the student-athletes report for the first practice on August 1. Preseason practice starts with building individual skills that will be incorporated into the routine. In October, the team starts working on the specific routine it will perform at nationals come January. 
 
Sereno said when the team convenes in August, any talk of last year's success is done. The only focus is on hitting the routine at nationals with as few of deductions as possible and leaving it in the judges' hands.
 
"We don't talk about winning and it's not our goal," Sereno said. "I don't put that pressure on our athletes. We have a lot of fun at practices. It's an environment where girls can laugh and truly be themselves while working hard."