The UMD dance team is on their way to make some noise on the national stage yet again, and wow audiences along the way. This past weekend was busy for the Bulldogs, with performances in the “Best of the Best” competition at Williams arena, the Edina invite, and finally heading home to perform routines in front of a home crowd.

You’d think a national champion would have their best days behind them, but for the Bulldogs, that’s not the case.

“This season has exceeded everybody’s expectations,” said Lizzie Kerr, a senior. “We have a super strong team. I think a lot of us would argue our strongest team ever. This is my fourth year on the team and this is definitely the strongest routine we’ve had and the best teammates that we’ve had. Our dances are the best that they’ve been at this point in the year and we’re able to really get nitpicky. So everybody does feel super confident with the dances.”

“This, out of all the years, has something special. These kids all want it for each other. They want their teammates to do just as well as they are. It’s not an individual just wanting to do it. It’s been really great to see like the team really work hard together and put in so much in every practice and what we’re asking of them,” said Alli Mackner, co-head coach.

It’s hard not to be bought in with this level of talent. Thanks to leadership from some upperclassmen, the experience is certainly there. In a competition where all eyes are on your every move though, you need all the experience you can get, without overthink things.

“Our team motto this year is right here, right now,” said Maddi Coole, a fifth-year dancer. “We’ve really just been focusing on that every time we perform and really honing in. You’re here right now and this is all you have to worry about. You don’t have to worry about what’s going on in the crowd. We’re just here together and it’s just a performance with us all together.”

“There’s 18 or 16 of us out there in routines that are trying to dance the exact same,” said Mackner. “Sometimes it’s not going to be perfect and that’s ok.”

The Bulldogs will try to bring some hardware back up north after their trip to nationals in Orlando, with the national competition starting Friday.