The Clarion

Issue date: 5/18/04 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Scott Casey Quinn Gonzalez, Jessica Rubino, and Ashley Cross work on their toe touches at the cheerleading clinic on Tuesday.

With seconds remaining on the clock, the Pioneers men's basketball team finds itself down by two. Coach Terry Carroll calls a time-out. The players jog over to the bench and while sitting and panting in regular-sized seats that seem unusually tiny, the fans sense the team needs something more. It is as if the team needs a sixth man on the court.

There is no ability to pull the goalie and no hope for some last minute heroics, the five chosen ones must come up big in the clutch moments.

Fortunately for the Pioneers, when playing at home they will have that sixth man in spirit on the court for the final seconds thanks to the inspiring time-out performance by the DU cheerleading squad. After completely changing the format of the squad for this year, the team just finished holding tryouts for next years' squad.

Last year the squad switched to all women and greatly increased in numbers, leading to Pioneer success in basketball, gymnastics and hockey.

The cheerleaders "brought more energy to the games and kept our fans entertained," said Assistant Basketball Coach Marcus Mason. "I think it helped out [the] energy level at the start of the game and gave us more of a home court advantage. They were a big part of our success, like having a sixth man."

This past season the team made huge improvements from day one until the Sun Belt Conference tournament, said Angel Field, director of in-sport promotions. "We have made a huge jump from the past and it is just going to get better from here.

"Next year, we are hoping to incorporate more stunts and tumbling into the performances," said Field. "We have mostly been recruiting through word of mouth, but some incoming freshmen have flown in for tryouts."

The squad hopes to hold a camp in the fall and be ready for the beginning of basketball season in October.

Camp was an unheard-of word for DU's old squad, which only held occasional practices in the lounge of Centennial Towers a few years ago.

Fans, if you thought last year was a big leap for the squad, just wait to see what they will do during games this year.

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