The Devils are going to the national championships... the Dancing Devils, that is.
The Duke Dancing Devils, the University's dancing squad commonly seen at home basketball and football games, will compete against 16 other teams in their first-ever appearance at the national collegiate dance championship this Friday in Daytona Beach, Fla. The competition will be nationally televised by NBC at 1:30 p.m. April 13.
The entire team is excited about making its debut in the national championship, said Trinity senior Julie Ritter, co-captain of the team. "Everybody feels honored to be invited, and the fact that we're competing with some of the best squads in the nation-and that we're among them-is a great feeling," she said.
The team qualified for the competition by sending in a two-and-a-half minute-long video of some of their routines to the National Cheerleading Association and NCA Dance committee, which announced the Dancing Devils' invitation in early February.
Ritter said the dance team has been practicing since August. "Over the last couple weeks we've been training hard-the whole squad's been on a workout program," she said. "At practice we not only run through routines, we work on technique and skills, run, do crunches-all kinds of stuff."
The team also works really hard on building morale within the squad, Ritter said. "We spend a lot of time together, so sometimes it gets tough, but we really come out supporting each other while we perform and while we practice," she said.
The presence of coach Mark Lyczkowski on this year's team has made the squad more competitive, said Roy Skinner, director of club sports. "[Coach Lyczkowski] has taken [the Dancing Devils] the additional step they need," Skinner said.
In previous years, the team lacked the "Sports Club II" designation that provides club sports with a paid coach.
Trinity sophomore Amy Kantipong, a member of the team, said that Lyczkowski has really made a difference for the team this year. "He's been amazing," she said. "He's professional [and] motivated. He's really lifted our squad to a more competitive level. It's been a really great change for us this year."
Lyczkowski is also the coach of the Spirit Express All-Star Team, a group of local high-school girls who compete in national cheerleading competitions.
Other teams competing at the nationals include defending champion Kentucky, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University.
The traditional rivalry between Duke and UNC is not present in this competition, however, team members said.
"We're friends-everyone's really excited for each other," said engineering junior Mi-Mi Lee, Dancing Devils co-captain. "We're hoping they'll do well, and they're hoping we'll do well."
The team will travel to Daytona Beach Wednesday and run through their program and will continue practicing Thursday.
Approximately 60 other teams are expected to try to qualify for the competition on the spot Thursday.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.