ERIE, PA – The Alfred University cheerleading team finished its first competitive season in school history as the Saxons finished fifth at Gannon University on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Saxons competed against four, established teams that are all heading to National Cheerleaders Association Nationals. AU was just short, mathematically, from a fourth place finish. "Knowing we had the stiffest competition this week, and the very different process for warming up and competing at this venue seemed to throw the girls off a bit," Head Coach Dr. Amy Button-Ervin said. "They seemed very nervous and I think that's what attributed to one bobble, resulting in a .5 point deduction and the fact that our baskets didn't hit the skills we had been working on. Had those mistakes not been made, we would've been in a much better place competitively."
 
The cheer program said its goodbyes to five members who competed in their final competition of their collegiate careers. McKenzie Wilson (Syracuse, NY/Cicero North Syracuse), Gabrielle Dutton (Cuba, NY/Cuba-Rushford), Melissa Fontanarosa (Port St. Lucie, FL/Liverpool), Jubalee Krisher (Bath, NY/Bath-Haverling) and Lily Laughlin (Larchmont, NY/Mamaroneck) all were front-runners of the program with the transition from club to varsity status and all competed in their final competition on Saturday.
 
"I'm happy with how we did, overall, in our first ever competitive cheer season. On the bus ride home, we spent about an hour and a half reflecting on the season and thinking ahead to the future," Coach Button-Ervin said. "We decided as a group that none of us had ever experienced such an unlucky season of any sport. The reality is our team was riddled with unfortunate and unexpected events that occurred over and over again throughout the spring semester, especially. There wasn't one full week leading up to or during competition season that we didn't have some injury, illness, quarantine or difficulty arise. In a sport where you truly need everyone present to practice effectively, these instances were very challenging. However, these athletes are strong in so many ways. Not only did they fight physically to keep their teammates in the air, but they pushed through mental blocks, continuous changes and frustration with things outside of their control. Next year, we are very excited to continue growing and developing as individuals and as a team. With help from some new recruits, we are hoping to have 5-10 tumblers, and to be executing more challenging skills early on in the season. Cheers to year one and on to year two!"