SRU finishes third in team competition

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. -- Slippery Rock University cheerleaders Andy Brown and Shannon Ross made history when they were crowned champions of the National Collegiate Cheerleading Championships held Jan. 10-12 at Disney's Wide World of Sports in Kissimmee, Florida.

The Rock duo was the first NCAA Division II tandem to win the title in a competition that included cheerleaders from all classifications, including Division I. They will be featured when ESPN and ESPN2 televise a taped version of the competition in the near future.

"I was real excited when they announced our names as the winners," said Ross, a senior psychology major from the Jefferson Hills section of Pittsburgh (Thomas Jefferson High School).

"I was just pumped that we did it," added Brown, a junior health and physical education major from DuBois (DuBois High School). "Our dream finally came true."

Brown and Ross attribute their success to "putting in a lot of extra time practicing our routine. We practiced every day during the holiday break, except for Christmas Day," Brown said. "We probably did a few hundred repetitions of the routine in the weeks leading up to the competition, and we really 'hit it' in the competition."

A year ago, in their first season as partners, Brown and Ross placed third at the National Championships. The big difference this year was . . .

"No one had ever seen a girl pickup a guy," Brown said. "We did that; Shannon lifted me from just off the floor to over her head."

Ross, who stands about five feet tall -- about a foot taller than the trophy she and Brown received for their championship effort -- shyly acknowledged that she can dead lift 260 pounds.

Brown, meanwhile, holds the national age-group (21 years of age) and 198-pound weight-class record for dead lift with a best of 700 pounds. He also squats 600 and benches 350.

Brown hopes to put that strength to good use next fall when he attempts to walk onto The Rock football team as a linebacker.

Ross, a double minor in communication and dance, is hoping to attend graduate school next fall.

Masci-Thomas duo places sixth; Rock finishes third as a team

Brown and Ross were also part of a Rock squad that earned a third-place finish in the Division II team competition.

Team members Julie Masci and Scott Thomas placed sixth in this year's pairs competition after earning a ninth-place finish in 2002, their first season as partners.

"We had a harder routine this year," explained Masci, a junior from Ebensburg (Bishop Carroll High School), "which is what you have to do to put yourselves in contention for the championship. The judges remember what you did a year ago and would wonder why, if you don't try something a little tougher the next year."

Thomas, a senior from Lakewood, Ohio (Lakewood High School), added, "The big thing we did differently this year was to be more creative and incorporate more transition from one stunt to the next."

Gemma Fotia is The Rock's cheerleading advisor.

# ROCK PRIDE #