March Madness, Wyoming Style

To say this month has been crazy is one of the biggest understatements of the year. With Spring semester in full swing, mid-term assignments, and the quickly approaching end of season happenings, I have been extremely busy. What better way to handle all this craziness than with a trip to Vegas.

That's right. A trip to Las Vegas.
It was that time of year again. March Madness was upon us and the Wyoming Cowboys and Cowgirls were headed to Vegas to compete in the annual Mountain West Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Tournament.

With a select group of 14 cheerleaders and 25 band members, we boarded the bus in Laramie at 6am Monday, March 6th. Tuesday afternoon the Cowgirls played in their first game. Ranked 2nd in conference, the Cowgirls played #7 Fresno. While both teams played well, the Bulldogs outplayed the Cowgirls, and their run in the 2017 MW tournament came to an end.

Wednesday morning the cheer team headed to the UNLV practice gym to practice for the extravaganza with the other MW cheer teams. After practice we got ready for the game and headed to the arena. During half time of the first game of the day, all the cheer teams in the MW took the court. Each team has a one minute routine they perform on their own in the center of the court. After each team has gone, all of the teams perform one more routine in their designated spot on the court, all at the same time. After our performance, we sat in the stands, watched the rest of the first game, and then warmed-up for our game. The #7 Cowboys plated the #10 Air Force Falcons. After a rough start, the Cowboys were unable to catch up, and their time in the MW tournement came to an end.

After Wednesday's game, we got ready for our team dinner, ate at the Cheesecake Factory, and had some free time on the Las Vegas Strip. Thursday morning we loaded up the bus and returned to Laramie.

And that was it. Basketball season was over. Cheer was done for the year.
Or so we thought...

As Selection Sunday rolled around, we were alerted to the possibility of some post-season tournament opportunities outside the NCAA tournament. Sunday night we were informed that the Men's basketball team would be participating in the College Basketball Invitational, CBI, a tournament comprised of 16 teams who had good seasons, but were not picked for the NCAA or NIT tournament. The Cowboys would play once more. This time they would play Eastern Washington University on Wednesday March 15th in Laramie.
Then Monday night we got word that the Women's basketball team had also been invited to play in a post-season tournament. They would play in the Women's National Invitation Tournament, WNIT, Thursday in Laramie against Seattle University.

So while we all thought the Cowboys and Cowgirls were done for the year, they live to play another game. Let the March Madness continue

Until next time,
Ashley