Last Wednesday Colgate beat Navy 74-58 in the Patriot tourney title game to earn an automatic bid to this week’s NCAA tournament. The Raiders were 8-11 after a loss at Boston University in late-January but have won 15 games in a row to make the NCAA tourney for the 2nd straight year, where they will face #3 seed Wisconsin on Friday in Milwaukee. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with Colgate Dance Team captain Andrea Skinner about being a leader and being back in the NCAA tourney.
You are from New Lenox, IL: what made you choose Colgate? I always knew that I wanted to attend a college in a different region. I was drawn to Colgate because I wanted a school that had the school spirit that comes with D-1 athletics, but also a small liberal arts education.
You have been dancing for a long time: how did you 1st get into dancing, and what is the best part? I started dancing when I was in Kindergarten. Over the years I have done many different styles including ballet, jazz, tap, and clogging.
You have been President of the dance team for the past 2 years: what is the key to being a good leader? I believe that the key to being a good leader is listening to others. Many leaders think that they are the be-all/end-all, but my co-captain and I welcome ideas from everyone in our group.
How frustrating has it been to be a dancer for a great basketball team during a pandemic? Colgate was very strict with our COVID guidelines so last year we were doing practices on Zoom, which was extremely challenging. As the year went on, we were able to practice socially distanced in small groups. This year was a lot better because we were able to practice with everyone in the studio. Overall, the biggest struggle was having the unknown of whether we would be able to practice/perform the following week because of COVID guidelines.
You are a Math major and a German minor: why did you pick those subjects, and what do you hope to do after graduating? I chose to be a math major because I enjoy problem-solving and knew that by choosing a challenging major I would take full advantage of the Colgate experience. I studied German in high school and decided to continue in college so that I could study abroad at the University of Freiburg in the spring of 2021. Sadly this was canceled due to COVID, but I am still hoping to travel to Germany in the near future. After graduation, I am planning on pursuing my master’s in Marketing/Analytics.
You are the Sexual Assault Prevention and Support Chair for your sorority and also assist in costume design/sewing for the theater program: how do you find time to do so many things at once? I have always been a person who loves to be busy. In college, I have had to learn to say no to things and really focus on what I am passionate about. I have really had to focus on time management as I have taken on more roles.
Last Wednesday the Raiders had a win over Navy in the Patriot tourney title game: how excited was everybody to win the conference tourney for the 3rd time in the past 4 years? Everyone is absolutely ecstatic! Last year’s loss was disappointing so we are so excited that we made it to the tournament this year.
How does your school decide who gets to go to the NCAA tourney, and what will it mean to you to see your group doing its thing in front of a national TV audience? Our dance team is not technically in the athletic department so we are completely student-run. We are the only completely student-run dance team in the entire Patriot League. Unlike the cheer team, we do not have a coach or funding from athletics. This year we were not invited to attend the tournament with the other teams, but we are still preparing for our school’s dance showcase this spring. Colgate is on spring break during the first few rounds of March Madness so we will all be rooting on the team with our friends and family back home!
Any predictions for this week? I am hoping that Colgate will be able to beat Wisconsin. Our team is a lot more balanced than it has been in the past and we have a lot of experience. We have been on a roll recently so fingers crossed that Wisconsin is off their game!