NEW ORLEANS, La.- The Ave Maria University competitive dance team finished as the regional runner-up for the second year in a row, as the Gyrenes placed second in a field of five teams at the NAIA Southeast Qualifier, hosted on the campus of Loyola University in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Gyrenes finished with a score of 69 points, 6.6 points behind regional champion Loyola.

Monday's regional competition consisted of two rounds, the preliminaries and the finals. The scores are combined at the end of the day, with more emphasis placed on the final round score, to determine a regional champion, who earns an automatic berth to the NAIA National Championships held later this month in Michigan. 

In the first round, the Gyrenes found themselves working from behind, as their routine was scored a 60.9 by the judges. Ave Maria was hurt by 6.5 points in deductions, and would otherwise have been ranked second. With the deductions, the Gyrenes sat in fourth place, almost 12 points behind first place Loyola and several points behind Campbellsville and Cumberlands.

Ave Maria's second performance of the day was easily their best, as the Gyrenes' routine was scored a 71.7 by the judges. The score was the second best of the final round, and allowed the Gyrenes to jump both Campbellsville and Cumberlands for second place. Loyol again had the best score of the round, tallying a 76.5 to give them a regional-winning total score of 75.6

As the second finisher in the region, the Gyrenes are in the pool of potential qualifiers for the NAIA National Championships. The qualifiers for the NAIA Championships will be announced March 18 by the national office, with the national championships scheduled for March 29 and 30 in Ypisilanti, Michigan.