Last Friday Miami lost to Virginia 84-62 in the ACC tourney semifinals but still earned an at-large bid to this week’s NCAA tournament. The Hurricanes made the Final 4 in 2023, lost 24 games last year, and will open as a #7 seed against Missouri in St. Louis tonight. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with Miami Sunsations Dancer Mia Diffley about being a captain and making the NCAA tourney.
You are from Columbus, OH: what made you choose Miami? I grew up very close to Ohio State, so I wanted to get away from that. Once I took a tour of Miami, it was history.
You are majoring in Industrial Engineering with a minor in Dance: how did you choose those subjects? I had a lot of help from my college counselor. I am strong in math/science, and she felt that Industrial Engineering would be a good fit for me. I have danced all my life.
You are a SR: do you have a post-graduation plan yet? I will be doing a 5th year next year to finish my Industrial Engineering degree.
You are on the Sunsations Dance team: how long have you been dancing for? I did not like it when I was younger, then I tried every other sport, then went back to dance about 10 years ago and loved it.
You have been a captain for the past 2 years: what is the key to being a good leader? Leading by example. We have a lot of standards as a college dance team, and if your teammates must be able to rely on/trust you to be your best self, so you must stay true to your word.
Miami was 1 of 8 ACC teams who made the NCAA tourney: what is it like to be part of 1 of the best basketball conferences in the country? It is very exciting. I got to travel for the 1st 2 rounds of the NCAA tourney as a freshman, which was very fun.
This has been a sensational sports season for Miami: did you get to dance at any of the football team’s games during their run all the way to the championship game? I got to attend 3 of their 4 CFP games: the 1st round game at Texas A&M, the quarterfinal game at the Cotton Bowl, and the title game in Hard Rock Stadium. It was a great experience.
How does your school decide who gets to attend the NCAA tourney, and what will it mean to you to see your group doing its thing in front of a national TV audience? We have 2 cheer teams, so we rotate them with dance. We got to do the ACC tourney last weekend, and cheer will get to do the 1st 2 rounds of the NCAA tourney this weekend. They need people with responsibility at the games so all 3 of our captains will get to go if the team advances.
What is the plan since you do not get to be in St. Louis? I am keeping my fingers crossed because if we win then I think we will have 6 dancers traveling to San Jose next week!
Any predictions for the Hurricanes this month? I am predicting them to go all the way: our football team was not projected very high last year, and they were still able to make it all the way to the title game.
