JOLIET, Ill. --- A 4.7-point improvement from one competition to the next enabled the University of St. Francis competitive dance team to claim a first-place finish in one of two invitationals hosted by the Fighting Saints on Saturday afternoon.

After totaling 77.6 points in the first invitational, USF came back to register an 82.3 in the second competition.  Head coach Lily Countryman's squad placed second among four teams in the first competition, which was won by Marian University (Ind.) with 79.5 points. St. Ambrose's reserve team was third with 73.2 points.

The second invite, which was won by St. Francis, was made up of three teams with St. Ambrose's reserves placing second (76.4) and Saint Xavier third (72.8).

In the first competition, only one of three judges put the Saints' performance in the 80-point threshold, while all three did so in Round 2.  The biggest improvements came in both the uniformity and performance impression categories.  St. Francis also did not get any point deductions in the second performance after missing a rotation and having a foot-touching violation in the team turn sequence. 

Performing in both competitions Saturday were Sara Borik, Anna Bremer, Cierra Cosentino, Addison Decker, Alyssa Hoffman, Brianna Hoffman, Kristen Myers, Aleksandria Potoczny and Stefanie Schellhorn. 

Up Next
The Saints make their debut at the American Midwest Conference Championships in 13 days on March 7 in Columbia, Mo.

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