STUNT | 1/25/2022 5:33:00 PM

DENTON, Texas (Jan. 25, 2022) – STUNT – is it cheerleading? Not quite. In its first year of competition, the Texas Woman's University STUNT team plans to ignite everyone's passion for this new Pioneer sport.
 
"STUNT takes familiar skills and athletic components from cheerleading, but it removes that crowd leading element," TWU head coach Jasmine Owens said.
 
Jasmine Owens, a four-time STUNT National Champion from Oklahoma State University, welcomed 14 versatile athletes, who came from varying cheerleading or gymnastics backgrounds.
 
Starting with training in the fall semester, Owens said she has been very impressed with how the girls responded to learning STUNT and adapting to new positions.
 
"We've really increased our overall skills and very quickly gotten the hang of things," said Owens. "We had a word we were going to focus on for this whole entire first year and it was versatility. I wanted them to be willing to step into any position, whether they've done it before or never done it, and just try their hardest. Already, we have definitely lived that word through and through."
 
Although the tenacity and versatility of the athletes have impressed Owens throughout training, she said she has been even prouder of their comradery and character.
 
"One of the biggest things that I have been proud of is seeing everyone on the team holding each other accountable," Owens said. "They are just so good at drawing the best out of each other. They just want to make this year as special and as memorable as possible, and they come into every practice with that mindset."
 
TWU STUNT will debut their inaugural team Wednesday, Jan. 26 at 6 p.m. in Kitty Magee Arena in their Pioneer Showcase.
 
As they prepare to kick off their first season, Stratton Stiefvater, the captain and lone senior on the team said she is excited for the opportunity to compete and be a leader on the team.
 
"The only goal I really have is for us to have a great time," Stiefvater said. "I am really excited, with the leadership skills I have, to be able to guide the freshmen, even though I know more or less the same they do about STUNT, but guide them with learning specific skills, because cheer [in high school] was able to help me with technique."
 
On Wednesday, the Pioneers will debut their routines in front of a crowd for the first time this season, before official competition begins on February 4.
 
TWU STUNT will open their 2022 season at home against Texas Tech University, University of Texas – Tyler and Dallas Baptist University on February 4, which will be their only home tournament of 2022.
 
"It feels amazing to be able to kick off our season at home," Owens said. "Being in KMA where we get to practice every day and having our fans, the atmosphere will really help carry us through the rest of the season and just start us off with a lot of positivity."
 
Because it's the only home competition of the year, February 4 will also be Senior Day for Stiefvater. She said she cannot wait to start the season, but starting it home makes it extra special.
 
"We are all very excited to start the season at home, because it really sets that milestone," Stiefvater said. "We are very excited to have everyone come and be so excited, because it will make sure we feel even more comfortable, even though it is our first game ever."
 
For curious Pioneer fans, a STUNT game will have four quarters. Every team learns the same short routines prior to the start of competition season. Out of eight possible routines per quarter, four will be performed in each quarter. The team with "possession" calls a routine, which both teams will perform head-to-head and the "winning" team will be awarded a point for the routine.
 
Owens said each quarter displays a unique element of STUNT technique or skill.
 
"The first quarter focuses on group stunts," Owens said. "The second is pyramid and tosses, and the third quarter focuses on jumps and tumbling. The fourth quarter is a combination of the first three, so a longer routine. What is so unique about STUNT is that you are going side-by-side with your opponents. When a routine is called–both teams do the exact same routine side-by-side, and judges watch and decide who did it the best. Then, the winning team would get the point and they would call the next round."
 
Stiefvater and Owens both said they want fans to pack KMA and be loud at the STUNT competitions.
 
"I would like the audience to know is that we don't want them to be quiet, Stiefvater said. "We're going to be yelling on the sideline, so yell with us."
 
"We want fans to know to be loud and to get into it," Owens said. "We want fans to be standing up, bring signs, and bring the spirit to keep our team's energy up."
 
As she looks ahead to her first season as a collegiate head coach, Owens said success for her this year will be measured in effort, rather than points.
 
"It has nothing to do with the scoreboard this year," Owens said. "For me, is just seeing that they are giving 100% in everything they do. I want our bench and our sideline to continually hype each other up no matter what happens out on that floor. With the majority of athletes returning next year, I just want them to soak in every game, the game play and the strategy of STUNT."