For the New England Patriots Cheerleaders, saying goodbye to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, last April was a bittersweet moment. They were there to shoot the team’s annual swimsuit calendar, but the sunny weather was more appealing than anything New England had to offer at the time. The team members had just boarded the plane and settled into their seats when Tracy Sormanti, the Patriots Cheerleaders’ director/choreographer, cut through the plane’s continuous drone.

“You got it!” Sormanti shouted. The jubilant announcement caught cheerleader Meghan White off guard.

“Got what?” she inquired.  

Sormanti explained that White had been selected as one of the featured models in Sports Illustrated’s 2008 Swimsuit Issue. Just being considered was a tremendous honor, but it was now official: White, a native of Bedford, would travel to New York City to pose in a photo shoot for SI’s annual swimsuit edition.

White met the moment with a brief show of excitement followed by her usual calm focus. She would not let the big news detract from her meticulously planned trip home. So, when the plane disappeared into the Punta Cana sky,
White, now a senior at the University of New Hampshire, shifted her attention back to the schoolwork piling up in her absence.   

“I have just learned how to maintain this balancing act of getting schoolwork done and traveling,” she said. “I’ve learned about priorities and to take every free minute I get and devote it to my schoolwork.”

White’s focus was especially evident when she sat down for class a few weeks ago. She had just returned home from Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Issue launch party, a three-day event filled with enough travel to leave anyone drained. Despite her fatigue, White carefully followed the day’s three-hour lesson. “Education is my first priority,” she said.

White is hoping that her commitment to hard work in the classroom will someday lead to greater accomplishments in the field of broadcast journalism—specifically in the male-dominated realm of sports.

“I really admire female sportscasters and the way they have broken into a male-dominated field,” she said. “Pam Oliver is my favorite. She makes you want to listen.” White cites Oliver’s general sports knowledge and delivery as her particular strengths.

Sports knowledge comes naturally to White, who grew up in a house filled with sports fanatics. The family’s favorite football team is none other than the New York Giants—yeah, those New York Giants. Although her upbringing goaded an appreciation for sports, it did not turn her into a Giants fan.

Like most New Englanders, White was disappointed when the Patriots fell short of becoming the first team ever to go 19 and 0 during an NFL season. (The Patriots fell to the Giants in Super Bowl XLII on Feb. 3.) She described the atmosphere at the big game in Arizona as “electric,” but said it was odd and disheartening to retreat to the locker room after the Pats’ first and only loss of the season.

White’s first trip home after the Super Bowl included some good natured ribbing, but it was also filled with understanding. As a cheerleader, White devoted two nights a week to practice and showed up five hours before games to perfect her routines.
The Sports Illustrated photo shoot took place in a New York studio last summer. White is featured on page 145 of the Swimsuit Issue, which is currently on magazine stands.