Hawkeye cheer
team tones down stunts

Thursday,
January 05, 2006

By
Steve Fox

The Grand Rapids Press

HAMILTON -- With a young and inexperienced
squad, Hamilton
cheer coach Becky Bierschbach has switched gears.
The Hawkeyes will not reflect her personality this
year.

"A lot of what we do depends
on their ability level, especially in the area of stunting," Bierschbach said. "We're not doing the difficulty
that we did last year. It's better to be safe than sorry."

Bierschbach played rugby for three years at Grand Valley State
University, throwing
the "better safe than sorry" idea out the window. But she said she
knows when to pull back, especially with just eight team members and three
girls with varsity experience.

Bierschbach said she normally has about 14
girls on the team. After losing several seniors, it will take a couple years
to match that.

"There are a lot of new girls
that will be looking a lot better in the next few years," she said.

The only senior is Stephanie Mentzer. Juniors Kristina Jackson and Stephanie Garcia
join her as the only team members with varsity experience.

Junior Gabrielle Lightfoot,
sophomores Julie Schrotenboer, Karra
Dykhouse and Lauren Harper and freshman Amanda Schoeppe complete the roster.

The Hawkeyes
will open the season Wednesday at the Allendale Invitational.