NEW ORLEANS, La. -- After a stunning open day, the Vanguard University dance program stepped up to compete again Friday in the Battle of the Big Easy, hosted by Xavier University of Louisiana. The Lions once more stood out among the field, finishing fourth out of the nine programs present in the full competition performance. The team then put their routine up against Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) and Talladega (Ala.), emerging with the best score of the three and ending up with the second-highest score of the entire two-day event.
What Happened? The full competition performance took almost 90 minutes from start to finish, as the field of nine schools tried to put lay down the best score. Vanguard performed third but lost a few points from the performances yesterday, coming away with a 70.63. That was still good enough to finish securely in the fourth position. Aquinas (Mich.) had the top score of 79.7, which was around the scores VU posted Thursday. Loyola (La.) was second with a 79.2 and Montreat was third with a 73.07.
After the cheer competition concluded, the Blue and Gold went for the final run of their routine in a triangular with Our Lady of the Lake and Talladega. Vanguard was the last of the three to go and the square left it all on the floor, earning the team's highest mark of the event at 80.57. That cleared the high score from yesterday (79.53) and was second in terms of total points for the whole competition, with only the performance from Aquinas yesterday scoring higher with an 83.8. Our Lady of the Lake picked up a 62.67 and Talladega had a score of 26.8 to give the Lions two more wins. Vanguard will leave New Orleans with four wins and the fourth-place finish in the field competition, a fantastic accomplishment for a squad that had never performed for judges before.
What's Next? Vanguard will take their routine up to Hope International next Thursday, February 17. Both teams will perform during the halftime of the basketball double header, with the women's game at 5:30 women's game and the men's at 7:30.
