2009-10 Basketball Cheerleading Season
While looking forward to cheering on the Flying Dutchmen basketball team to another successful season, the Hope cheerleaders celebrate a milestone this year, marking four decades since long-time coach Maxine DeBruyn ushered in the modern age of cheerleading at Hope, by organizing and leading one of the most consistent and talented programs in all of Division III.

Despite the second year in a row of graduating five valuable seniors, coaches Anne Stolz and Wes Wooley anticipate a strong showing from an enthusiastic and talented group of newcomers, to maintain the outstanding tradition of Hope cheerleading.

Integral to the squad’s success will be an experienced core group of veterans, including last year’s Co-Most Improved, Derek Bradley of Roscommon, Mich.

Other returning letterwinners that will be valuable contributors in the coming year include sophomore Bethanni Jabaay of St. Johns, Ind., and senior, Manny Reynoso of Winfield, Ill.

In the classroom in 2008-09, returning squad members Carmen Hirsch and Bethanni Jabaay earned GPA’s equivalent to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll.

The Hope cheerleaders came together the first week of August to make their annual trip to the largest regional college cheerleading camp in the country sponsored by Universal Cheerleading Association (UCA) in Milwaukee, Wisc.

The squad, comprised of three men and eight women, joined nearly a thousand cheerleaders representing colleges and universities from all over the Midwest and beyond, on the campus of the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee.

Over four days, the squads work on new skills, hone their safety technique, come together as a team and compete in competitions with routines learned at camp. As one of just a few NCAA Division III colleges in attendance, the Hope squad participated in camp competitions in a very competitive Small Coed Division which included several Div. I universities, as well as three-time, and current national champions in Small Coed, Division II, Northern Kentucky University.

Hope earned a second place trophy in the Sideline competition and a fourth place trophy in the Cheer competition, as well as blue ribbons in every evaluation in which they participated.

In addition to their impressive showing in the competitions, the Hope cheerleaders tied for the Leadership Trophy in their division with DePaul University. This award is voted on by the other squads in that division, for the squad which; they would like to be a member of, exhibited leadership throughout the camp, and made everyone’s camp experience more enjoyable.

With only four members of Hope’s squad having previous college camp experience, this very positive outcome in Milwaukee is a harbinger of great things to come for this young squad.

2009 Football Cheerleading Season
While looking forward to cheering-on the Flying Dutchmen football team during their centennial season, the Hope cheerleaders celebrate their own milestone in 2009, marking four decades since long-time coach Maxine DeBruyn ushered in the modern-age of cheerleading at Hope, by organizing and leading one of the most consistent and talented programs in all of Division III.

Having graduated five valuable seniors for the second year in-a-row, coaches Anne Stolz and Wes Wooley anticipate a strong showing from an enthusiastic and talented group of newcomers committed to maintaining the outstanding tradition of Hope cheerleading.

Integral to the squad’s success will be an experienced core group of veterans, including last year’s Co-Most Improved, Derek Bradley of Roscommon, Mich.

Elected by the squad as captains for football season are junior Carmen Hirsch of Highmore S.D. and senior Bart Schrader of Centreville, Mich.

Other returning letterwinners that will be valuable contributors in the coming year include sophomore Bethanni Jabaay of St. Johns, Ind. and senior, Manny Reynoso of Winfield, Ill.

In the classroom in 2008-09, returning squad members Carmen Hirsch and Bethanni Jabaay earned GPA’s equivalent to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll.

The Hope cheerleaders came together the first week of August to make their annual trip to the largest regional college cheerleading camp in the country sponsored by Universal Cheerleading Association (UCA) in Milwaukee, Wisc.

The squad, comprised of three men and eight women, joined nearly a thousand cheerleaders representing colleges and universities from all over the Midwest and beyond, on the campus of the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee.

Over four days, the squads worked on new skills, honed their safety technique, came together as a team and competed in competitions with routines learned at camp. As one of just a few NCAA Division III colleges in attendance, the Hope squad participated in camp competitions in a very competitive Small Coed Division which included several Division I universities, as well as three-time and current national champions in Small Coed, Division II, Northern Kentucky University.

Hope earned a second place trophy in the Sideline competition and a fourth place trophy in the Cheer competition, as well as blue ribbons in every evaluation in which they participated.

In addition to their impressive showing in the competitions, the Hope cheerleaders tied for the Leadership Trophy in their division with DePaul University. This award is voted on by the other squads in that division, for the squad which; they would like to be a member of, exhibited leadership throughout the camp, and made everyone’s camp experience more enjoyable.

With only four members of Hope’s squad having previous college camp experience, this very positive outcome in Milwaukee is a harbinger of great things to come for this young squad.

Cheerleaders Take First in Competition (2/08)
The Hope cheerleaders competed at the Midwest Open National Championship, sponsored by COA (Cheerleaders of America) in Columbus, Ohio on February 23. Hope performed an impressive routine that took first place honors in the Coed College Division.

In addition to winning their championship, the Hope squad made it to Angola, Indiana in time to cheer on the Hope men's basketball team, as they clinched the outright MIAA championship.

Cheerleaders, Mascot Garner Honors (8/07)
The Hope cheerleaders made their annual trip to the largest regional cheerleading camp in the country in August sponsored by Universal Cheerleading Association (UCA) in Milwaukee, Wisc. Hundreds of cheerleaders from colleges and universities all over the Midwest met for four days to work on new skills and safety techniques.

The only NCAA Division III college in attendance, the Hope squad, comprised of eight men and eight women, participated in competitions in Division II. This was a very competitive division, including two universities that were top-five finalists in last year’s College Cheerleading National Championships. Hope earned third place trophies in the Fight Song and Cheer competitions and a second place trophy in the Sideline competition.

Over the 13 consecutive years of attending this camp, the Hope squads have shown steady improvement. The UCA staff acknowledged this by awarding Hope the Program Improvement trophy, recognizing how far this program has come.

"This award is a testament to the long-term commitment of the college and our athletes to make Hope one of the best and most consistent cheerleading programs in the nation in Division III," said coach Wes Wooley.

Another first for Hope at camp was the inclusion of “Dutch”, the new college mascot. Dozens of college mascots attended the camp to work on their persona and perfect their game-day skills. Dutch made a big impact in his premier at camp, earning the trophy for Most Improved Mascot.