Whether it’s rallying up fans, motivating the basketball team or promoting school spirit at Sacramento State, Hornet Girlz dancers Amy Gallina and Regina Metzker are always there to help energize the campus.

Gallina and Metzker are two of only three seniors on the Hornet Girlz dance team. They are also the first group of graduating seniors participating on the team in five years. In addition to enjoying their time as dancers on the team throughout the years, they have had opportunities open to them that they otherwise would not have received if it weren’t for being a Hornet Girlz dancer.

“It has opened up a lot of doors for us,” said Metzker, a charismatic brunette born and raised in Elk Grove who is also the team manager. “People have given us business cards during alumni events and want to keep in contact with us after we graduate and some of us have received job offers from different companies.”

Gallina and Metzker started dancing from childhood and have since made it their lifelong passion.

“We started out with a little tap, jazz, ballet in our cute leotards and tutus,” Metzker said with a laugh.

Metzker was part of the Rhythmical Madness dance company for three years in high school and was the team captain for two of those years. In elementary school, she was part of a hip-hop dance team called Nu Style.

Gallina started her dancing career in studios since her high school in Livermore did not have a dance team.

“It was really sad that we did not have a dance team,” Gallina said. “We kind of had a dance team for a year, but it was just line dancing, which I was not quite interested in.”

Their first year as dancers on the Hornet Girlz Dance team was quite challenging and filled with drama.

“The team was so divided during our first year as dancers, but we were fortunate enough to avoid the cliques and not let the divisions affect us,” Metzker said. “Ever since then, we’ve survived and went through this journey together.”

Before joining the dance team, Gallina and Metzker knew of each other through dance classes they took at Sac State and have developed a friendship over the years as dancers together.

“It was nice to have a familiar face on the team every year,” Gallina said.

Despite the setbacks that the dancers faced, from cliques to adjusting with new team members, there were just as many highlights as well. The most significant was watching the Hornet football team defeat rivals UC Davis for the first time since 1999.

“It was amazing, I mean, we both teared up when we won the game,” Metzker said. “It was the best thing for them to win during our senior year. The win was great for our football team and its program. It was just a great feeling; it even feels better than graduating. It was a serene moment like we were on a TV show.”

“That moment was indescribable, and it was great to be on the field with the football team watching them win and celebrating with them afterwards,” Gallina said with a heartwarming smile.

Some other highlights of their dancing careers were putting together their annual dancing clinics for young girls every January and being given the opportunity to become role models to the young up-and-coming dancers.

“It was a great moment to see the young girls look up to us and to share what we know to others,” Metzker said.

“Working with the kids made me think back to when I was that age looking up to the older dancers and idolizing them thinking how they were amazing. It felt great that these girls seemed to look up to us in that way,” Gallina said.

The support and dedication that both Gallina and Metzker put forth has been beneficial to everyone on the team. Elizabeth Reese, a sophomore communications major, appreciates everything that they do for the team from managing to support.

“They don’t do what they want for the team, but do what needs to be done,” Reese said. “Regina pretty much does everything and has been a great help to us. Amy helps ease any tension within the team and her smile never fails to brighten your day.”

Sophomore Alexis Bailey, who is one of the team captains, said that both Metzker and Gallina were beneficial and great aspects of the team.

“Regina was always extremely dedicated and she’s one of the busiest people on the team,” Bailey said. “Amy has always been very supportive and works really hard at what she does.”

As the journey is slowly coming to an end for Gallina and Metzker, they’re both glad that they stayed on the team together all three years.

“We could have easily quit after our first year, but instead we stuck around and got through it, and I’m glad we made that decision to stay on the team,” Metzker said. “If I gave up after my first year as a dancer, I would not have experienced the rest of the great moments I had with the team. It’s also great to have these kinds of experiences in college and each experience has helped us grow. Our coach has always stood by us and has given us great respect for what we did for the team.”

Jolie Roberts, coach of the Hornet Girlz Dance team, was at a loss for words when describing her experiences with the dancers.

“I owe a lot of gratitude to them,” Roberts said. “They are very special to me and there aren’t enough kind words to describe them. I feel like a proud mom.”

After graduating, both Gallina and Metzker still plan to pursue dancing one way or another and will continue to participate in studio dancing. Some time in the near future, they also want to audition to earn a spot on the Gold Rush Girls cheer team for the San Francisco 49ers.

“It will be something fun to do and it will also be competitive, and it will be a great experience for us,” Gallina said.

Metzker plans to come back and become an assistant coach for the Hornet Girlz, and she feels honored that Roberts has given her the opportunity to help coach the team.

“It will feel a little nostalgic not being a dancer anymore, but it will still be fun to dance with the team and spend time with them,” Metzker said.

Gallina and Metzker encourage younger dancers to be persistent, to never give up and to have that same attitude not just in dancing, but everything else that they go through in life.

“If you love something whether it’s dancing or anything else, go for it,” Gallina said. “Don’t let one bad experience steer you away from your passion. Don’t let the little things discourage you. Just keep going; it’s not the end of the world.”

Metzker and Gallina wanted to give a special thanks to the athletic department for all the support they gave to the team and how the department involved themselves with the Hornet Girlz.

“I just want to thank all the staff of athletics: the department, everyone, for everything that they’ve done for us.”

Contact Nick Hunte at [email protected]