Kylie Chase Cheers at the NCAA Tourney
By Kylie Chase (’16)This March, I had the privilege to travel with the Varsity Coed Cheerleading team to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA basketball tournament in New York City at Madison Square Garden. Only four couples were selected so I was very excited to have been chosen. I’m a second year and have cheered at UVA both years for football and basketball. After enduring a tough football season, basketball was a welcome change, and we had such a great time cheering on the Cavaliers to so many exciting victories. I have cheered since age six, and Madison Square Garden was certainly the largest audience I’ve cheered in front of. I believe there were nearly 20,000 people in the stands including three of my best friends and Theta sisters who drove up without telling me and surprised me by waving like crazy from across the court. Virginia had an incredible cheering section, and the game, as I’m sure many of you watched, was an intense battle against the Michigan State Spartans. We alternated going out on the court to perform for timeouts with the MSU team. Each time, we would do a pyramid, coordinated line stunt or the fight song. We had the best time getting to go out there and show our skills and our love for the ‘Hoos, although the spotlights did make it rather nerve racking. Unfortunately, the game ended as a heartbreaking loss with the Spartans two points over our Hoos. Despite our disappointment that this amazing season had come to a close, we proudly sang the Good Ol’ Song and smiled and waved to the incredible group of fans who made the trek. It was certainly an unforgettable season!
