[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 14253]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   UCF CHAMPIONSHIP CHEERLEADING TEAM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of 
January 7, 2003, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Feeney) is recognized 
during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. FEENEY. Mr. Speaker, it is a big thrill to rise today to honor a 
hometown university, the University of Central Florida, and their 
cheerleading team for their Division I championship and cheerleading 
and dance team competition this year. UCF President John Hitt and the 
entire UCF family are simply thrilled with the success and are 
extraordinarily proud of this accomplishment. In fact, this is no 
fluke. UCF cheerleaders have finished in the top 10 for 9 out of the 
last 10 years. Talk about consistency. All champions exhibit quiet 
determination; but two teammates especially, Jamie Woode and James 
Kersey, demonstrated exceptional resolve above and beyond the call by 
competing with serious injuries, a broken fibula for Jamie and a torn 
rotator cuff for James. That is the UCF Knights spirit.
  A student athlete's success is not merely measured by athletic 
performance, however. This 18-member team holds a cumulative 3.3 grade 
point average. During her 19-year tenure as coach, Linda Gooch has 
witnessed all but one of her team members earning bachelors degrees, an 
all-too-rare accomplishment in Division I competitive student athletic 
programs. Today I will submit a resolution with many colleagues from 
Florida commending the fabulous success of the University of Central 
Florida cheerleading team on its championship this year and wish them 
continued success in the future both on and off the field.

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