GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Davenport University Pompon team is currently preparing for the pinnacle of their 2023 season. The team will be heading to Dance Team Unions College Classic national invitational held in Orlando, Florida at the Orange County Convention Center April 6-8. This will be the team's second year ever competing nationally since the program was founded in 2015.
 
"We're so excited and feeling extremely gratefully to be able to do this. This team is by far the most versatile I've had the pleasure of working with in all my years with this program and I am so ready to watch them live this out and have all their goals and hard work come to fruition. This journey with them has been nothing short of amazing. We're all very much ready to show what we've been accomplishing," said Head Coach Erin Engeseth.
 
Founded in 2015, the Pompon team has always competed at a state level with Mid-American Pompon both in their annual HighKick championship held every November and the MAPP State Championship every February. Recently the team has added to their competition regime and now also competes through Dance Team Union at their regional, virtual and College nationals.
 
"I always knew I wanted to have them doing more and the team has always craved it. Adding more to our catalog is really what's boosted this program. We love being able to showcase our traditional pompon technique not only at a state level, but nationally and regionally too. The pompon and dance community has been so supportive and inspiring. Our technique is very specialized and it's a real dream to spread it nationally to new viewers," said Engeseth.
 
Pom will take two routines to nationals this April. They will compete against other DII ranked college Pom teams in the Pom category. They will also face off against other programs in The College Classics' Spirit Showdown. The Spirit Showdown category is an additional opportunity for teams to show the audience something that is entertaining, fresh, new and unique to their program. It also allows teams to take creative risks with very few rules and to have fun. - thecollegeclassic.com
 
The team also has a chance to be selected for The College Classic Battle "hands-down, the most exciting competition experience yet where teams battle head-to-head regardless of their division and the winners take the cup. "- thecollegeclassic.com
 
This year's roster consists of 13 players: 
Freshmen Riley Kane, Gabbie Castro, Chloe Stoutnar, Abie Kenyon and Kaprya Pureifoy.
Sophomores Dachia Gordon, Andraeya Wells and Krisit Patton.
Junior Alyssa Brinks.
Seniors Kaytlin Orban, Sarah Root, Erica Jean and Graduate student Cati Fell. The team is lead by head coach Erin Engeseth, assistants Megan Guajardo, and Cody Reed and captains Cati Fell, Kaytlin Orban, Sarah Root and Dachia Gordon.