With regionals right around the corner, the SAU Cheer and Dance teams have gotten off to strong starts in their competition seasons.

The SAU Cheer team has had a perfect start, winning all five of its competitions to date. The team took all three rounds of the Bethel Thresher Invitational Feb. 4-5. After a first-place score of 88.73 to win the seven-team first round, the team had back-to-back scores in the 90s to claim the final two competitions. SAU had a score of 90.76 to finish first among 11 teams in Round 2 and a score of 90.65 to defeat the other nine teams in the final round. Oklahoma City was the closest competitor, finishing just a point behind St. Ambrose in the third event with a score of 89.36.

The Bees last Friday posted a score of 94.15 to easily outdistance Mount Mercy at the Fighting Bee Classic, the team's lone regular-season home competition. The team then turned around and won the four-team Siena Heights Saints Spectacular with a final score of 91.68.

Through five events, St. Ambrose has an average score of 91.19, currently the second-best mark in the NAIA.

The defending NAIA National Champion SAU Dance Team is also off to a strong start. The Bees have won four of their six competitions and finished a close second in the other two.

St. Ambrose won two of the three Thresher Invitationals, defeating six teams with a first-round score of 77.27 and defeating a 12-team field with a score of 79.37 in Round 2. Baker, which SAU defeated by 1.37 points earlier in the day, came back to win the third round with a score of 80.55. St. Ambrose had a score of 79.95.

The Bees also took second at the first Fighting Bee Classic last Friday. The team's score of 85.67 was narrowly edged by Viterbo (86.27). SAU bounced back to win the second classic with an 88.33, the highest score of the day. St. Ambrose also posted the highest score in the six-team Saints Spectacular Sunday with an 85.45.

St. Ambrose is currently fifth among all NAIA programs with an average socre of 82.67 through six events. The University of the Cumberlands is the top dance team, averaging an 85.99 through three competitions.

The SAU Cheer and Dance Teams will hold a dress rehearsal at home this Friday before St. Ambrose hosts an NAIA Regional Qualifier next Friday-Saturday, Feb. 25-26. There will be a Senior Day/Nationals dress rehearsal on Mar. 6 before the teams hope to compete in the NAIA Championships Mar. 9-12 in Ann Arbor, Mich.