The University of Maine cheerleaders went into Friday’s final round of the National Cheerleaders Association nationals with a simple mission in mind.

“We had a team meeting and decided that our goal for that day was to be in the lead when we finished performing,” coach Lisa Ackley said, pointing out that the five teams in the finals had to compete in reverse order of their finish in the preliminary round.

That meant that the two teams who took the Daytona Beach, Fla., stage before UMaine were the two the Bears had outscored the day before.

And it meant that if Ackley’s squad was able to achieve its goal, it would finish no lower than third in the nation.

“And that’s exactly what we did,” Ackley said. “So we were thrilled.”

The Black Bears tallied 7.77 points on a 10-point scale. They were eventually outscored by Northern Illinois (7.80) and national champ Houston (8.57).

Ackley said the slim margin between her team and Northern Illinois did elicit some second-guessing among team members.

“We tried not to, but I had some kids who did [second-guess],” Ackley said. “But it’s not just one thing [that accounted for the margin]. That’s what they all need to remember.”

Ackley was pleased with the crisp performance of her team.

“We definitely hit a much cleaner routine [than we did in Thursday’s preliminary round],” Ackley said. “We were very, very happy with our performance.”

Ackley said her team’s routine was cleaner than Houston’s, but the national champs scored higher due to the higher degree of difficulty of its routine.

Ackley said she’s giving her team this week off, but they’ll be back in action next week: Tryouts for the 2001-2002 squad are scheduled.

And with 14 of 17 cheerleaders planning to battle for a spot on next year’s team, Ackley is optimistic.

“Since this is such a young squad, this does make you feel really good,” she said.

The UMaine cheering squad: Dani Blaylock, Orrington; Kate Loveless, South Paris; Jeremy Towle, Lincoln; Aaron Hermes, Sterling, Va.; Erika Desjardins, Bangor; Danielle Bridgman, Newport Beach, Calif.; Darcie Pollard, South Thomaston; Angela Merbach, Houlton; Heather Fraser, Brewer; Kristin LaPlant, Princeton; Andrea Fullerton, South Thomaston; Andrea Curtis, Rockland; Brandy Walsh, Amherst, N.H.; Kim Stowell, South Paris; June Usher, Kennebunk; Sarah Smith, Brewer; Jana Crocker, Lincoln

Softball Bears heading South

Coach Deb Smith’s UMaine softball team was supposed to be preparing for its second straight home series this week.

Instead, an unplayable Kessock Field has again forced UMaine to play its “home” games on the road.

UMaine headed to Philadelphia last weekend, dropping three of four to Drexel, and the Bears plan on playing Hartford on the road on Saturday and Sunday.

Smith’s Bears are 7-26 and have played all 33 games away from home. UMaine is 2-6 in America East play.

But the Bears aren’t the only team struggling to find a place to play.

“The thing is, Hartford has yet to have a home game because of their field situation,” Smith said. “They have drainage issues and have had a hard time getting out. They’ve played 10 games this year.”

Smith said that as of Wednesday, Hartford’s field was playable. But with rain forecast for Thursday and Friday, that could change, and force the two teams to scramble for a neutral site for the weekend games.

The Bears are scheduled to play in Vermont on April 21-22 before heading back to Orono for an April 26 game against Bowdoin.

But Smith admits the Vermont series is in trouble, too: The Catamounts’ field is still snow-covered.

Smith said the constant traveling has taken its toll.

“[The players are] exhausted,” she said. “It’s frustrating that we expected to have two home weekends.”

Still, she’s optimistic that her team’s field will be playable by the time America East opponent Towson invades Orono for doubleheaders on April 28 and 29.

“We should be ready by then,” she said, before adding the season’s most popular caveat: “Mother Nature willing.”