Cheerleading Captures Eighth CUNYAC Title
March 19, 2014
Brooklyn College cheerleading team performong one of their many routines during the finals at Lehman College.
The Brooklyn College Bulldogs cheerleading team captured its eighth conference crown in program history at the 27th annual City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) Cheerleading Competition, held at the APEX on Lehman College campus.
The Bulldogs earned their title following an impressive and flawless performance consisting of flips and jumps. Overall, the difficulty level was high for most of the routine, and the Bulldogs were able to smoothly stick each landing. Head Coach Tonika Simmons, who has been at the helm of the BC Cheer program since the 2003–2004 season, was impressed by her team's performance.
"I am so proud of this team" said an exuberant Simmons. "Their performance tonight sums up our season. They conquered the routine with style, class, and talent. The coaching staff and the student-athletes had a season of ups and downs, but at the end of the day they did what they do best."
Brooklyn College had previously won six straight from 2006–2011, and this was their second straight CUNYAC championship, after reclaiming the title in 2013. The eight conference championships for Brooklyn are second only to Baruch College's 14, which include a run of 13 straight championships (1988–2000).
The Bulldogs’ performance scored 264.5 points from the judges, which beat out runner-up the College of Staten Island (227 points) and third place finisher John Jay College of Criminal Justice (207).
Rounding out the competing teams were York College (189.5), Kingsborough Community College (149.5) and Borough of Manhattan Community College (141).
In the individual events, Brooklyn took home two silver medals and two bronze medals. In the stunt team competition, seniors Christine Alexis, Samantha Quinones, Stephanie Marquez and Peter Porcelli and junior Gianna Montanez took home silver medal with their performance. Marquez also took home a silver medal in the jump competition, while Alexis took home a bronze medal in the jump. Sophomore Cristina Careri earned the bronze medal in the tumbling competition.
The cheerleading competition is consistently the most interactive championship with fans getting up for giveaways, trivia, extra competitions, and more, as evident by the over 1,000 fans that packed the APEX to standing room only.
