College Dance Team Central

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

CSB Dance Team Takes Second At Nationals

csbsju.edu

Imagine the New York Giants or the New England Patriots football teams trying to win the Super Bowl without a coach, or a top flight movie winning an Academy Award without a director.

Sound impossible? It can be done – just ask the College of Saint Benedict dance team.

The CSB national team, one of two dance teams at CSB, finished second at the United Dance Association’s National Open Division meet Jan. 19-20 at Orlando, Fla.

Saint Benedict finished with 721.5 points, one point behind division champion the University of St. Thomas. Orange Coast (Calif.) College was third, with 716 points.

It was the top finish by the CSB team at the meet, topping its fourth-place finish in 2007. The team does not have a full-time coach or a full-time choreographer.

The team was pre-seeded seventh going into the competition.

“We knew we had the potential to move up,” said CSB senior Ali Jacobson, one of three captains on the team. “It kind of left us in the underdog role, which was a good place to be. We knew we had a lot of work to do, but we could move up.”

The team did exactly that, moving up to second following the semifinals on Jan. 19. A total of 13 teams advanced to the final on Jan. 20, and CSB finished second. The CSB team dance performed the same routine each day, to the Whitney Houston song “Fine.”

“When we found out we were second, it was so nice,” Jacobson said. “But it was kind of bittersweet, because we finished second to a team that has both a full-time coach and choreographer.”

The CSB team includes:
• Ali Jacobson*, Sr., Apple Valley, Minn. (Eastview High School)
• Jessica Remhof*, Sr., Inver Grove Heights, Minn. (Simley High School)
• Christine Holmgren*, Jr., Ham Lake, Minn. (Blaine High School)
• Katie Streitz, Sr., Plymouth, Minn. (Armstrong High School)
• Ashley Artmann, Jr., Brooklyn Park, Minn. (Champlin Park High School)
• Kaitlin Sundberg, Jr., Wayzata, Minn. (Benilde-St. Margaret’s High School)
• Kaylie Elstad, So., Duluth, Minn. (Marshall High School)
• Annie Henderson, So., Slayton, Minn. (Murray County Central High School)
• Danielle Johnson, So., Shoreview, Minn. (Mounds View High School)
• Kayla Kragh, So., St. Cloud, Minn. (Cathedral High School)
• Emily Lenz, So., Duluth, Minn. (East High School)
• Michelle Brunik, FY, Ham Lake, Minn. (Blaine High School)
• Katie Sauer, FY, St. Cloud, Minn. (Cathedral High School)

* - Denotes team captain

A video of the CSB performances can be viewed at www.varsity.com/vwired/08ucaudacoll.asp, and scrolling down to the CSB links.

ESPN is also expected to show the competition at a later date.

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