ORLANDO - Northwest will begin its quest to defend a pair of cheer and dance national titles this weekend, as the UCA/UDA College Nationals kick off on Friday at Walt Disney World Resort.

Both teams are currently in Orlando making final preparations for this year's event, which will run through Sunday, January 19. The two teams performed in showcases at Northwest, Ole Miss and Memphis prior to departing on Wednesday morning.

Competition begins on Friday at 8:38 A.M. Central time, when the Northwest dance team takes the stage in the Open Game Day event, followed by the All-Girl Cheer Game Day semifinals at 8:54 A.M. The Northwest cheer squad will compete again at 2:15 P.M. in the Co-Ed Game Day division.

Closing out the Friday competition slate will be the Girls' Partner Stunt at 4:41 P.M., featuring Northwest cheerleaders Allee Belle McMinn, Lorie Buckley, Zoe Boos and Mabree Phillips. Awards for the Partner Stunt competition will be held later that evening at 7:30 P.M.

Saturday's schedule kicks off with the Open Game Day finals for the Northwest dance team, slated to begin at 7:08 A.M. Central. The cheer squad will then begin competition at 8:30 A.M. in the Co-Ed Traditional division and again at 11:54 A.M. in the All-Girl Traditional division. 

Northwest dance then takes the floor again in the Hip-Hop semifinals at 12:48 P.M. Central, while the Co-Ed Game Day Cheer Finals take place at 3:45 P.M. The All-Girl Game Day Finals are then slated to begin at 5:15 P.M. Central, with awards for Co-Ed Game Day, All-Girl Game Day and Dance Open Game Day to be presented later Saturday evening.

Sunday marks the final day of competition, kicking off with the All-Girls Cheer Finals from 8:00-9:10 A.M., followed by Dance Hip-Hop Finals from 11:03 A.M. to 12:02 P.M. Co-Ed Finals will formally wrap up the competition weekend for Northwest, running from 11:05 to 11:45 A.M. Awards for all three finals will be presented throughout the afternoon and evening on Sunday.

Northwest is aiming to defend national titles collected in last year's competition, where coach Patrice Christian helped guide the Rangers to the gold medal in the Open Hip-Hop Finals, marking the dance team's first-ever national championship in just its second year of competition. Meanwhile, coach Brandon Casey and the Northwest cheer team captured a national title in the Open All-Girl Finals.

Fans can watch the UCA/UDA College Nationals and other related content by purchasing a subscription through Varsity TV. To do so, click here.

All times listed in the graphic above are for Eastern Standard Time. Times for each competition are subject to change.