ERIE, PA – The Alfred University cheerleading team added more hardware to the trophy case on Saturday afternoon, picking up a win at Penn State Behrend.
 
The Saxons had no deductions on the day as they had to rework their formations and move athletes into new roles. "If you had asked me on Thursday night or Friday morning how I thought today was going to go, I would have said that they were 'going to kill it on the mat.' We had a very strong week of practice and I could tell that the pieces were all really coming together. We had also made a few upgrades that were looking great," Head Coach Dr. Amy Button-Ervin said. "Almost the entire team is seeing our trainers multiple times a week for various pains and injuries, but this team will always fight. It's something I truly admire about them, and I was so excited to see everything consistently hitting this week.
 
Then, on Friday, I learned that one of our key flyers was injured in a non-cheer related incident and wouldn't be able to compete this weekend. I had a moment of doubt, and then, brushed it off. As I said to the girls before they went out to perform, 'if any team in the world can overcome adversity, it's this one.' They've encountered one difficulty after the next and have never given up. I knew they'd come out ready to figure it out.
 
Just an hour before we departed for Penn State Behrend, we reorganized formations and popped new flyers into three stunts (unfortunately, we couldn't safely reconfigure the other two that our missing flyer was in). I am so proud of Melissa Fontanarosa (Port St. Lucie, FL/Liverpool), who was coming off of a two-week hiatus due to a significant rib injury, and Emily Martin (Charlotte, NC/Providence), who joined our team in January, for stepping into new roles with what looked like ease. Emily hadn't ever done the pyramid segments that I put her in and with the support of our strong bases and backs under her, they made it look like they'd been practicing together all season. 
 
When it was time to warm up at competition, I knew it was going to be great. They were hitting everything beautifully and I knew today was our day for no deductions. They went out there and performed their hearts out. Every stunt that we could throw hit and they beat their high score from last week by nearly five points. My theme of the season is that we are making history and it was a very happy day to leave with that first place trophy. Uncontested or not, this team earned their victory, and I couldn't be more proud of them.
 
We will be back in the gym Monday to keep upgrading and cleaning up small details prior to our final competition at Gannon University next week."
 
The Saxons will next close out their historic first season with a trip to Division II, Gannon University on Saturday, March 26.