NEW ORLEANS, La.- The Ave Maria University competitive dance team took the floor for the first time in school history this week, competing in the Battle in the Big Easy, hosted by Xavier University New Orleans. The Gyrenes competed in three dual meets, including the first head-to-head win in school history, and finished in the middle of a competitive nine team field in the overall competition.

On Thursday, the first day of the competition, the Gyrenes were matched up with Dillard University in dual competition. The Gyrenes' routine earned a 72.63, Ave Maria's highest score of the weekend. AMU's score easily outpaced Dillard's 63.07, giving the Gyrenes a win in their first-ever dual competition. 

Later on Thursday, Ave Maria competed in dual competition against Vanguard University from California. Vanguard posted one of the top three scores on the weekend, as their score of 79.53 bettered Ave Maria's total of 68.13.

Friday's events started with the multi-team competition, which saw all nine schools in attendance compete. The Gyrenes finished in the middle of the pack exactly, placing fifth of the nine teams. Ave Maria's score of 66.80 was superior to those from Our Lady of the Lake, Dillard, Talladega, and Keiser. The overall champion was Aquinas, who scored a 79.7 to topple Loyola New Orleans by a half point.

The weekend's activities concluded with another dual, which saw the Gyrenes take on Montreat College from North Carolina. Montreat barely scraped by AMU, scoring a 73.73 while Ave Maria posted a 70.37 on the judge's scorecards.

Over four routines, the Gyrenes averaged a score of 69.57, a score than ranks the Gyrenes among the top 20 teams in the nation in average score.

Following the Battle in the Big Easy, the Gyrenes will compete next weekend at the NAIA Southeast Region Qualifier, which will determine the teams that head to the NAIA National Championships in Michigan in March. 12 teams will vie for the opportunity to earn the automatic bid to the national championships, where five regional champions and seven at-large selections will vie for the national championship.