If you’re a Penn State student on social media, chances are you saw Penn State Lionettes captain Nikki Romano’s post in October about raising money to send the team to the Universal Dance Association National Championship (UDA Nationals).

In the past, Penn State has provided the team with funding for nationals, including travel and lodging. With Penn State’s recent budget cuts, the Lionettes lost the portion of their funding that went toward UDA Nationals.

“Nowadays, there’s been a lot of things changing in athletics, so I wasn’t shocked at all, and I understood. We just kind of jumped into action,” Lionettes coach Jackie Hovis said. “It was a ton of work this year with all the fundraising we did, which was so much fun. We got so much support, but everybody really had to work together on that.”

The Lionettes are an important part of many events at Penn State. Whether it’s a sporting or student event, you can usually find the Lionettes there. On top of that, the team works year-round to compete at UDA Nationals each January in Orlando, Florida.

“Initially, I was a little bit discouraged when I heard about the cuts, but after I thought about it and the team talked, we kind of came together,” junior captain Sophia Derienzo said. “We took it more as a positive because we just wanted to go to nationals and show all the hard work that we put in as dancers.”

The Lionettes put in the work, practicing six days a week for events and nationals.

“We have practice Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Tuesdays are from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. We also lift on Thursday mornings from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m.,” Hovis said. “Saturdays we normally do games and Sundays we practice for nationals, so we usually have nice Fridays off.”

The Lionettes’ budget obstacles picked up traction across social media, with many commenting and reposting in support of the team.

“We were originally told we needed to reach out to friends and family [for fundraising], and then one post later, it completely blew up,” Derienzo said. “Everyone was so supportive of us at Penn State and really throughout the country, even with some of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders commenting. Those were the aspects that helped us feel more positive and supported throughout the whole experience.”

Through continuous fundraising, the team was able to raise the $70,000 needed to send its team to nationals.

“I think that this team was just so close,” Derienzo said. “We all had each other’s backs walking onto the stage. We felt so comfortable and confident in our moves and had done all the work in the months prior. When we got there, we knew that we just wanted to go out there and put on the show. We wanted to tell a story, and I think that’s what we did.”

The Penn State Lionettes finished sixth in Division IA Pom and 12th in Division IA Jazz.

“I thought our routines were both entertaining to watch, and I think people saw that,” Derienzo said. “I was very happy with how everything came out.”