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For the fourth year straight, the cheer team at California Baptist University brought home their fourth National Cheerleaders Association championship title, making them undefeated since 2013.
The team traveled April 6-10 to Daytona Beach, Florida, to defend their national champion title. The women’s semester has been filled with various struggles and numerous injuries, but the team pulled through with another win this year.
Raven Rivera, junior biology major, said the motivation behind the NCA competition is to do it for each other and their coaches.
The squad finished finals with 95.08 points, but the score was reduced to 92.33 points after deductions.
The team became the first Division II program, including co-ed teams and all-girl teams, to win four consecutive NCA championship titles.
Tami Fleming, head coach of the cheer team, said in a press release that despite the deductions in the routine, she is proud of the way the women performed.
“This team has worked extremely hard and we have told them all year long that the work is worth it,” Fleming said in a press release. “Today they proved that. What an honor to make history by winning our fourth national title. I am so proud.”
This marks the fourth championship win for Fleming in her five-year reign as head coach. Fleming said she is full of pride to be a Lancer.
“The team worked together as a family and overcame the struggles,” Fleming said. “We are proud to be Lancers.”
Jordan Arrington, freshman kinesiology major, said the team had been practicing more than they ever have to ensure they would be ready for the stiff competition that was ahead of them.
“Spring break was our hardest week,” Arrington said. “We had two practices a day all week for five hours a day, and at the end of the week we had USA Collegiate Nationals. We have won the past four years and ended up winning our fifth title after a near perfect routine on day two.”
The team describes themselves as a family that does not want to let each other down.
