Rutgers dance team finishes 10th at UDA Nationals
The Rutgers dance team has had a very impactful season thus far and made great strides competing in the UCA and UDA College Nationals Competition in Orlando, Florida, last week. After working on their production piece throughout the school year, the Scarlet Knights advanced through multiple rounds and, ultimately, reached the final round of the event.
Rotating between men's and women's basketball games during the winter season and football games during the fall, the Rutgers dance team appears at multiple sporting events a week. The Knights always find a way to perform new, extraordinary dances at every home game during media breaks, timeouts and halftimes, despite their limited time to learn a routine.
The Rutgers dance team meets throughout the week to rehearse new pieces and choreography. While the Knights prepared to perform at their usual sporting events, they also practiced ahead of this year's nationals.
In preparation for nationals, the Rutgers dance team went to two regional competitions. The Knights competed in the DC Dance Challenge in Falls Church, Virginia, and the UDA Battle of the Northeast at St. Joseph's University before being sent off to UDA Nationals.
The Rutgers dance team spent the majority of its winter break at the University, getting ready to compete in Division IA for Jazz. The competition itself consisted of more than 300 universities that traveled from all across the country to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Each team enters the competition every year with the hopes of winning, but as with any sport, only one team can win the national championship in its division.
After the team showcased the 2-minute choreography it had worked on for months in the preliminary round, the Knights earned fifth in their group. With a raw score of 95.35 and an event score of 90.8095, Rutgers advanced to the semi-final round.
Entering the semifinals, the Knights competed against 20 other teams, where only half of the teams would continue to advance to finals. After pleasing the judges, the Rutgers dance team again received a bid to continue onto the next round after earning an event score of 91.5556 and a No. 10 ranking for its efforts.
The Knights progressed to the final round, where they concluded the competition with a 10th-place national ranking. The squad did a phenomenal job of demonstrating its skills and capabilities. In addition, the Rutgers cheer team also advanced to the final round at the same event.
The dance season isn't over just yet, as there are still numerous chances to see the nationally ranked Knights perform at the remainder of the men's and women's basketball games this season.
For more updates on everything Rutgers athletics, follow @TargumSports on X.
