Copyright 2016; Wilmington University. All rights reserved. Photo by Frank Stallworth.

NEWARK, Del. - - The strive for five begins on Monday night for the Wilmington University cheerleading team as they are hosting a send-off party at the WU Athletics Complex in preparation for the 2016 UCA College National Championships at the Wide World of Sports in Orlando, Fla., next weekend.

The championships will be held from January 15-17 with the Wildcats taking part in the Small Coed Division II group on Saturday afternoon. In addition, the Wildcats will also compete in the World University Cheerleading Championship on Sunday, competing in the Premier Small Coed group.

Kicking off the championship weekend will once again be a pair of stunt groups for the Wildcats as sophomores Kristen Basquill and Ryan Hertz look to better their qualifying placement of third place overall in the Coed Partner Stunt group. The all girls group of Corinne Carney, Alyssa Haines, Alyssa Kalafut, and Dominique Tee also earned a bid in the Girls "4" Partner Stunt group to open the weekend.

Basquill and Hertz will compete on Friday at 7:00 p.m. while the all girls group will compete on Friday at 7:15 p.m.

The team competition begins on Saturday and the Wildcats will be looking for their fifth straight UCA Small Coed Division II National Championship when they perform their routine at 3:23 p.m. A live stream of the team competitions can be found at uca.varsity.com.

Unable to follow the Wildcats next weekend in Orlando?

The Wildcats will again host a send-off party at the WU Athletics Complex on Monday at 6:00 p.m. The audience will get a chance to check out both the partner stunt groups and team routines one last time before the Wildcats head to Orlando.

Doors to the send-off party will open at 5:45 p.m. with the team performing at 6:00 p.m. sharp.