Dance Team Wins Big

For the second year in a row, the San Diego State University Dance Team placed first in both Hip-Hop and Jazz at the United Spirit Association’s Collegiate Championships. The competition, which is the largest collegiate dance competition on the West Coast, was held in Anaheim.

“It was a great way to end the year," said Jessica Shaffer, a junior majoring in interdisciplinary studies. "This was our last competition of the season, so it was amazing to win both categories back-to-back."

The team scored high in Saturday's preliminary round, setting them up for success for Sunday's final showdown. The Aztecs ended up winning the Hip-Hop division by four points and the Jazz division by one point.

Shana Ned, a senior kinesiology major and captain of the team, has been on the team throughout her career at SDSU.

"We knew winning two years in a row would be difficult because of the high levels of competition, so we really had to step up our performance," she said. "We went out there and gave it our all, and when we found out we won in both categories, it was the icing on the cake."

As the championship season comes to a close, the team will lose a group of seniors. But Shaffer remains positive that the team will triumph next season.

"We're looking forward to hosting auditions and getting a new class of exceptional dancers," she said. "And hopefully next year we can keep the tradition going by winning a third year in a row."