DAYTONA, Fla. -- With an impressive score of 85.8 out of 90 on Thursday night, the Christopher Newport University competition cheer squad had a tremendous opening performance at the 2024 NCA College Nationals in Daytona, Florida and currently sits atop the team leaderboard. The Captains edged out UMASS-Boston for the top spot in the Intermediate All-Girl Division III group that includes 19 squads from around the country. 

"We are extremely proud of our performance today and think it shows the amount of hard work and dedication this team has had this year," said head coach Erica Flanigan. "We are very excited to perform again on Friday with a chance to compete against some of the best squads from around the nation."

Accumulating 95.33 percent of a perfect score in the preliminary round, the Captains stand in first-place among the 19 teams heading into day two. The Thursday night performance counts for 25 percent of the team's total score while Friday's showing will account for the remaining 75 percent. 

Competing at the Ocean Center Arena, the Captains took the floor at 7:00 p.m. and put together a routine that incurred zero deductions. CNU was one of only two teams in the Division III category to hit a zero deduction routine and one of only 15 among the 87 collegiate programs entered in the six Intermediate All-Girl divisions to accomplish the feat. 

With the advantage of finishing atop the standings on Thursday, CNU will be one of the last teams to showcase their talents again on Friday. The first of the 19 teams in the Intermediate All-Girl Division III category will compete at 4:30 pm -- the Captains will take the floor just under four hours later at 8:20 pm in the Ocean Center Arena. The award ceremony will follow shortly after, scheduled for 8:47 pm. 

Interested in watching the Captains compete for a national championship? Click here and sign up to live stream the NCA & NDA College Nationals on Friday.