The University of North Florida had four club sports — dance, gymnastics, hockey, and swimming— that made it to their national competition this spring semester.
Dance
Besides being on the sidelines for soccer, basketball, or volleyball games, the UNF Swoopin’ Ospreys are excelling on the stage as well. After receiving first place at the Dance Team Union (DTU) regional competition, the UNF Club Dance team, the Swoopin’ Ospreys, advanced to the national competition.
The Captain, Liani Desseaux, and Co-Captain Erin Williams said that their team got a $500 bid that helped fund their journey to DTU’s College Classic. The other expenses were covered by student funding or fundraising throughout the Spring 2026 semester.
This was the team’s first year at nationals, and they climbed the ranks to 15 out of 24 teams with a dance routine to a remix of the song “Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley and The Wailers, which was in the Jazz category.
Unfortunately, the Swoopin’ Ospreys missed the cut-off for finals by one spot. However, Desseaux and Williams said that they will be back next year as they already qualified for the 2027 College Classic, this time with two routines.
The results from regionals and nationals allowed for more opportunities, which Williams explained could include try-outs for a dance team for the sidelines of games and a competition team. The opportunities and increased recognition could help them move up in UNF athletics and grow as a team.
Gymnastics
Similar to dance, the UNF club Gymnastics team went to their national competition after a great regional round.
According to UNF’s gymnastics Instagram, one of their gymnasts, Olivia Martin, received second place at the regional championships for the National Association of Intercollegiate Gymnastics Clubs (NAIGC).
On the NAIGC Nationals Results webpage, Martin competed for the UNF Club Gymnastics team on a team with Anna Dubon, Cerine Ghadab, Megan Driussi, and Mallory Valentine. As a team, they flipped into 34 out of 43 teams.
Hockey
The UNF Hockey team also turned up the heat on the rink as they glided towards the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) National Championship for the first time in program history.
According to News4Jax, before the national championship, the team had a record-breaking season, as they had 15 wins in their third season of being in the AAU league.
At the Atlantic Coast Collegiate (ACC) Hockey League Tournament before Nationals, the Ospreys went undefeated, earning the ACC South Division Championship.
The general manager, Adam Lauer, said that the team was overall excited to be there and appreciative of all the support from the fans and the university. He and the team can’t wait to build their program even more and bring more success to UNF’s Club Hockey team.
Swim
The fourth club team that has become nationally recognized is the UNF Club Swim team, according to the UNF Club Swim team’s Instagram.
Two UNF swimmers, Lance Kochmann and Jeffrey Wolfe, competed in four events—two for each swimmer.
According to the results on the TYR College Club Swimming National Championship Results page, Kochmann swam into 12th place for the 50-yard breaststroke and 13th place for the 100-yard breaststroke.
The second swimmer, Wolfe, placed 29th in the 50-yard backstroke and 39th in the 50-yard butterfly. When totaled, the swimmers got UNF Club Swim to 50th out of 144 teams in the national rankings.
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