Two Kentucky college cheerleading teams will be headed to Florida this weekend to defend their national titles.

Both the University of Kentucky and Morehead State University won championships in their divisions last year.

UK won the Universal Cheerleaders Association College National championship in Orlando for the 19th time last year. They beat the University of Alabama, which had unseated them in 2011, UK officials said.

UK has failed to win the national championship just three times since 1995 and has reclaimed the title in the following year each time.

Last year, Morehead's coed squad won its 21st national title, while the all-girl and partner stunt squads placed third in their categories.

"I'm very excited about the dedication of our cheer teams," Morehead Coach Bill Mayo said. "Both our coed and all-girl teams have been practicing twice a day in preparation for our return to nationals."

Linda Blackford: (859) 231-1359. Twitter: @lbblackford