by Jorge Garcia
CI can always count on a cheerleading team that can cheer on students during sports and social events on campus. Suzanne Mirabelli, a liberal studies major, is the former president of the CI Cheer club and was president for four consecutive years.
Alexandria Calderon, a psychology major, has recently been elected as the club’s next president and has already begun her new role. Both women have been cheerleading since they were in elementary school.
Since Mirabelli was the president of the club for four years, she has been able to watch the club improve. “The four years have been fun,” she explained. “The first year was probably the hardest year, getting our ground set, like establishing ourselves in this sports club arena … right now I would say we’re our strongest.”
Mirabelli also explained why this year has been the strongest year for the CI Cheer team: “This year (the team) has been the most dedicated and the most wanting to learn.”
The team currently consists of 16 women and one man. Mirabelli explained that the team is looking to go into competitions, and Calderon elaborated, “Right now we are looking into NCA (National Cheerleading Association) … but we’re not 100 percent sure yet … Hopefully soon in late fall or early spring semester (the team) will be competing based.”
Mirabelli, who explained the main reason why CI Cheer has never competed in a cheerleading competition, said, “When we first started the team we always wanted to go for a competition team, but it takes a lot of dedication … I don’t think that we have seen that from everyone from every year … People kind of fall off, people quit halfway through, but this year … it’s our first year where we’ve seen the most dedication where people are really wanting
to (compete).”
When asked if they are expected to compete similarly to the film “Bring It On,” Mirabelli and Calderon both laughed and said, “Something like that, hopefully with less drama.”
So far CI Cheer has been cheering for lacrosse and men’s and women’s soccer. When asked about when a game is most fun, Mirabelli admitted, “When it’s a close competition, when there is a big rivalry or when the score is really close … that’s when they’re the most fun to cheer for.”
If you are interested in joining CI Cheer, you can contact the new president at alexandria.calderon326@myci.csuci.edu.
