Earlier this month Drake beat top-seeded Bradley 77-51 in the MVC tourney title game to earn an automatic bid to this week’s NCAA tournament. The Bulldogs won 25 games last year and made the CBI quarterfinals but have already won 27 games this year to claim the school’s 2nd NCAA tourney bid in the past 3 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 Drake cheerleader Savannah Ervin about being a captain.
You are from Bettendorf, IA: what made you choose Drake? I chose Drake because it has a good Occupational therapy program that is also accelerated, which means that I will finish my degree earlier than I would be at a different school.
You have been cheering for 8 years: how did you 1st get into it, and what is your favorite part? I first got into cheer during junior high. I had been dancing my whole life but some of my friends were trying out for the team so I thought that I would too. For a while I cheered/danced at the same time but it was too much work to do both so I had to pick 1. I decided to go with cheer (obviously!) and have not stopped cheering since. My favorite part of cheer is forming extremely close bonds with my teammates and stunting as well.
You are a co-captain of the team this year: what is the key to being a good leader? I think the key to being a good leader is making sure that you know what is going on. If you are unaware of what is happening and are unorganized then you will be be unable to lead anyone else. I also think that an extremely important part of being a leader is to find a good balance. You need to be able to tell people the expectations that they need to meet, but not sound bossy when you do so.
You are majoring in health sciences on the pre-occupational therapy track and minoring in psychology and behavioral analysis of developmental disabilities: how did you choose those subjects? I chose these subjects because I have always been interested in people with special needs ever since I was on an all-inclusive cheer team. I became close friends with so many of the other cheerleaders and wanted to be able to work with them for the rest of my life. I have continued doing extensive volunteer work with people who have disabilities and wanted to understand how to help them when they need it.
You are only a sophomore but what is the post-graduation plan? I am hoping to have a good-enough internship that I can just jump into a job right away. I want to work in a clinical setting at the moment so I am on the hunt for hospitals with internships for future occupational therapists.
What has been your favorite moment so far this season: upsetting Mississippi State back in December, winning back-to-back double-OT games to start February, Senior Night, other? I think that my favorite moment of this basketball season was Arch Madness. The energy in that packed stadium was incomparable. All of our fans were cheering our team to victory alongside the cheerleaders and it felt so good to know that our team had the most support in order to get that victory!
In the MVC tourney title game your team had a huge win over Bradley: what has the reaction been like since you returned to campus? Although the cheerleaders have been acting crazy since this amazing win (I am not sure if we will ever be able to let it go!), I feel like everyone else’s reactions have stayed the same.
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? Drake had a selection party yesterday when we found where we are going. All of the cheerleaders are so excited to have this game on national TV because it truly is a moment in history for our school.
Does your squad have anything extra-special planned for the NCAA tourney? We do not have anything special at the moment, but I am guessing that once we figure out where we are going our coach (Morgan Petersen) will come up with a fun outing for all of the cheerleaders to indulge in whenever we have some downtime. She loves to surprise us as well.
Any prediction for the Bulldogs on Friday night vs. Miami? I am just hoping that we try our hardest and make it as far as we can.