This past weekend the UC San Diego Dance Team traveled to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida, to compete in the UDA Collegiate Championships. The team did exceptionally well in a group of amazing teams, finishing the competition as the eighth best dance team in the nation.

Even before the competition, the Tritons were focused in the task at hand, as leading up to the competition, the team put in a combined 25 hours of practice, in addition to holding their second ever Preview Night showcasing both Jazz and Pom routines to family and friends. The team departed from San Diego early Thursday morning and arrived at their house in the Encore resort in Orlando late Thursday evening.

The team awoke Friday morning and headed to the brand-new ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex Arena. After rehearsing and putting the finishing touches on both their Pom and Jazz routines, the team attended the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Arena. As the Arena was designed specifically for cheer and dance, the Tritons were lucky to be a part of the first group of teams to practice in it.

The first day of the competition had finally arrived, and the team woke up bright and early. Competing first in the jazz category, the Tritons took the stage to “Maze Runner” by John Paesano, as they competed against 30 other teams. The team had a long break before they took the floor again, and were able to watch all the amazing D1A teams compete. Five hours later, the team started warming up and took the floor in the Pom category. After they were done performing, the team waited anxiously to find out which teams advanced to the final day of competition. Only a few teams move onto finals, and after patiently waiting the team was thrilled to learn they had advanced to finals in Pom. Once back at the house, the team went over corrections before heading to bed for a good night’s rest in preparation for the finals.

The day of finals arrived and the team danced their hearts out leaving everything they had on the floor, leading them to be given the title of the eighth best team in the nation. As they were in Orlando, before heading home, the team got to relax and have some fun at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. The team is overjoyed with their accomplishments and can’t wait to showcase their award-winning routine at Spirit Night coming in February.