On Monday UNC Greensboro beat Mercer by 8 PTS in the SoCon tourney title game to earn an automatic bid to next week’s NCAA tournament. The Spartans lost 3 games in February but won 3 games in 3 days last weekend to claim the school’s 2nd NCAA tourney bid in the past 4 years. In addition to shining a light on the players who got the job done on the court, it is also important to recognize the spirited students who have worked just as hard on the sidelines, such as band members/cheerleaders/dancers. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with Grace Marley about being a “Spartan G” and not being able to join the basketball team in Indianapolis next week.
You were born/raised in North Carolina: what made you choose UNC-Greensboro? UNCG was not on my top list of schools but my dad made me take a tour because they have a great dance program. It is a hidden gem and I loved it so much that I even became a tour guide!
What exactly is a “Spartan G”, and what does your team do at basketball games during a normal year? The Spartan G’s are the school dance team: we consider ourselves to be a cheer team who dances at several of our school’s sporting events. We do halftime performances and shorter routines during timeouts to bring some spirit to the fans.
What do you think the role of a college dance team is today, and how has it changed over time? We have received a lot of compliments over the past few years about how we have become a bigger part of spirit at the school. A lot of my friends and even random students will come up to me on campus and say that they like attending games because of what we do. It is a way to pump up the crowd. We have not been as involved this year due to COVID and I can tell that it has been a different game-day experience.
How do you like being a captain, and what is the key to being a good leader? This is my 1st year as captain. I try to be a good leader for the rest of the team by being a good student/role model to the younger girls and keeping that team spirit alive throughout the year.
You are a double major in marketing and dance: what made you choose those subjects, and what do you hope to do after college? I originally chose dance because I had every intention of moving to LA and auditioning for dance companies, but later decided to get more involved in marketing (especially in sports). I am planning to get my MBA and work as a marketing director, while also auditioning for the Carolina Panthers in the spring!
Your roommate Madison is also on the dance team: how close are you 2 after spending so much time together both on and off the dance floor? We are best friends! We competed against each other for a very long time and after getting to know each other while competing at Miss Dance North Carolina we decided to live together. You cannot beat living with your best friend/co-captain!
How do you like basketball, and is that your favorite sport? My favorite sport is baseball but since I dance at a basketball school that is also up there. It is fun to watch our guys dance on the sideline during the games!
On Monday the Spartans had an 8-PT win over Mercer in the SoCon tourney title game: how excited is the student body about winning a championship, and how big a deal is the team now that they have won 20+ games for the 5th year in a row? The game took place in Asheville so we were not able to be there in person but there were a lot of watch parties on campus. As soon as we won it just blew up on social media. Winning a title is a big deal not just for the team but for our whole school: all the students come together as 1 and we have become more of a community. I could not be more happy/excited for the team.
Due to COVID your team has been unable to participate this season and you will not be traveling with the team to Indianapolis next week: how frustrating is it to be a dancer for a great basketball team during a pandemic? It is frustrating, as is not being able to doing many other things, but we are super-supportive of them whether we are there or not. We will be celebrating virtually as much as we can because not being there will not change our level of support.
Any predictions for next week? Obviously I would love UNCG to go all the way but I do not want to jinx them. I will support them as far as they go.