A sold-out crowd packed the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts Monday night to watch the 2012 UF Homecoming Pageant.
Judges chose six finalists for the Homecoming Court: Charlie Cope, Matthew Davidson, Steven Gallo, Stephanie Etzig, Cecelia Hardwick and Auriel Rolle-Polk.
The opening number reflected Homecoming’s “United We Growl” theme. The 40 women danced to Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.,” wearing red, white and blue dresses, and the men sported Gator Growl shirts and blazers.
“It was a great experience,” Cope said. “I think the best part was just joking around with all the guys backstage and trying to perfect our dance.”
The judges panel included Carol Muschamp, UF spokesman Steve Orlando and Associate Vice President of Student Affairs Norb Dunkel.
The contestants and their sponsors were introduced during the Gator-gameday casual-wear phase. The women donned orange and blue dresses and were accompanied by men wearing Gator gear from Pennington & Bailes.
Each contestant’s campus involvement and life goals were described during the formal wear segment.
Rhythmic tap group STOMP performed before the special award winners and top 12 finalists were announced.
Haley Sasser was chosen by the contestants as Miss Congeniality, Tarin Moses won Miss Photogenic and Allison Banko won Queen of Hearts, which was sponsored by LifeSouth Community Blood Centers. Etzig and Gallo won the Florida Virtual School Academic Excellence Award.
“My mind is blown. It is a dream come true,” Hardwick said. “It was amazing for all of us to do this at the beginning of our senior year.”
In addition to the six finalists on the Homecoming Court, Zachary Ryan, Ari Bogotch, Jason Tiemeier, Christina Bonarrigo, Allison Archer and Victoria Hunter rounded out the top 12.
Each finalist answered what he or she thought was the most important quality UF’s next president should possess. Most said they wanted the new president to represent UF’s diverse Student Body and understand the value of academics and extracurricular activities.
The score of each finalist’s response was added to his or her total interview, casual-wear and formal-wear scores, which narrowed the field to six.
Those scores are the same used to determine the Homecoming King and Queen, which won’t be announced until Gator Growl on Nov. 9.
The pageant also served to get students ready for other upcoming Homecoming events.
“It was super entertaining,” said 20-year-old health science junior Brandi Rosier. “Everybody looked so thrilled.”
Homecoming finalist contestants Andy Schein, 21, and Cecelia Hardwick, 21, smile at the crowd at the UF Homecoming Pageant 2012 at the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts on Monday night.
