“Whose house? Blues’ house!” chanted Urban students as they cheered their teams to success. On Friday, Jan. 23, both the Urban girls and boys varsity basketball teams beat Lick-Wilmerding High School in a highly anticipated double-header at Kezar Pavilion.

The two games had been advertised throughout the school during the week leading up to the events thanks to the rejuvenated Urban Athletic Club, a group dedicated to increasing school spirit and promoting sporting events throughout the year. “UAC has been way more active this year than it has any of my other three years at Urban,” said co-leader of the club, Nikki Kimzey(‘15).

In preparation for the double-header against Lick, UAC made an abundance of bulletin board posts informing the student body of the day of events, which included a pep rally in the garden during lunch and a taco truck free for Urban students prior to the games.

“(The taco truck) was a huge hit. We gave out free tacos to over 170 members of the Urban community!” said Kimzey.

The pep rally included blue facepaint, a stand selling Urban Blues clothing and accessories, and a “Lick-Wilmerding Tigers” themed piñata. This was the school’s first ever pep rally which took UAC several weeks to plan along with the help of Student Committee.

Regarding the lunchtime pep rally, Kimzey said, “The entire day was pretty much dedicated to building spirit for the girls and boys games that night … It was a huge success.” With a giant turnout of excited Blues fans at Kezar, both teams were bound for victory.

Coping with the loss of their star player Kira Waldman (‘16), who is out for the season due to a stress fracture in her foot, the win for the girls was a serious moral booster. Katherine Semler (‘15) said, “the first game we played without her, our spirits were low.” Now, Semler continued, “We play for one another and our morale is great.” After their win Friday night, the girls found themselves tied for second in the league.

Similarly, the boys remain tied for second place after their win Friday night. The game was sealed with a late three point play by Austin Brenner(‘16), as “Aus-tin Bre-nner” chants echoed through Kezar.

“(UAC) will definitely continue to hype up games with promo videos and Bulletin Board posts, and we’ve talked about organizing more pep rallies for huge games,” concluded Kimzey. Blues athletes can expect larger crowds this year as UAC has, and continues to make sporting events a prominent part of the Urban community.