[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 5498]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                CONGRATULATING TENNESSEE COLLEGE DANCERS

 Mr. CORKER. Madam President, I wish to congratulate the dance 
teams at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and the University of 
Memphis, who each won their second consecutive Division I-A national 
title at the Universal Dance Association College Nationals in January.
  Each team worked relentlessly over the holiday break in order to 
defend their 2007 national titles, practicing up to three times a day--
and the hard work certainly paid off. The University of Tennessee squad 
was ranked first in the Jazz division after the semifinal round, while 
the University of Memphis squad topped the hip-hop division. Both teams 
continued their flawless performances in the final round, captivating 
the audience and comfortably securing their spots on top.
  The University of Tennessee Spirit Program is the only Division I-A 
program in the country to place in the top three in the dance, 
cheerleading and mascot divisions. In addition to their national title, 
the Tennessee dancers placed fifth in the hip-hop division. The 
Tennessee mascot, Smokey, also clinched a national title, his first 
since 2001. The Volunteer Cheer Squad placed second.
  The University of Memphis Spirit program had a strong showing as 
well. The Memphis dancers took home seventh place in the Jazz division 
while the Tigers' All-Girl squad took home a Division I national title, 
and the Co-Ed Squad placed fourth in Division I-A.
  I would also like to congratulate Tennessee head coach Kelley 
Eidenmuller and Memphis coaches Carol Lloyd and Frankie Conklin for 
their outstanding work with these groups of dancers.
  It is an honor to represent the great State of Tennessee and these 
extremely talented and dedicated young people. I extend my heartfelt 
congratulations to these athletes for their tremendous 
accomplishments.

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