Skip to content
News
Link copied to clipboard

8 rookie cheerleaders join new Eagles squad

The Eagles have eight new cheerleaders, who’ll join 30 returnees to form the 2012 squad. Sixty young women, half of them from last year’s squad, competed at Tuesday evening’s audition finale, held at the Perelman Theater at the Kimmel Center.

The Eagles have eight new cheerleaders, who'll join 30 returnees to form the 2012 squad.

Sixty young women, half of them from last year's squad, competed at Tuesday evening's audition finale, held at the Perelman Theater at the Kimmel Center.

The vets did a clean sweep of the preliminary awards, with Chelsey Morris winning for beauty, Ivelisse Rivera for fitness, Erica Dorsey for dance, and Alicia Lee in the interview portion of the competition, according to Barbara Zaun, the club's cheerleading director.

The "fan favorite," though, seemed to be a rookie, Charnei Hill, since "the sold-out crowd" … "cheered thunderously for her throughout the competition!" Zaun said.

The new squad will be introduced to fans on Thursday evening when the Eagles host their annual draft party, whose complimentary tickets vanished in hours early this month.

Two weeks later, the cheerleaders will be off to the Bahamas for the annual swimsuit calendar shoot. Fans can tag along by signing up for a special package via the WyndhamNassauResort's website or by calling 1-800-996-3426 (1-800-WYNDHAM).

Besides pre-pharmacy major Hill, the newbiesare Katrina Boyle, a jazz dance major; Susan Briggs, a university admissions coordinator; Sage Cifaloglio, a marketing major; Chastity Manning, a communications specialist; Amanda McGrath, a law student; Shannon McNeilis, a communications studies major; and Alicia Parks, a grad student in history.

Contact staff writer Peter Mucha at 215-854-4342 or pmucha@phillynews.com.