Two of Elizabethtown College’s a capella groups, Melica and Vocalign, traveled to Rutgers University on Saturday, March 29 to compete in the semi-finals of the 2014 International Championship of A Cappella (ICCA). Neither Melica nor Vocalign placed in the top three, resulting in neither group moving onto the finals.

Melica is Etown’s all-female singing group and Vocalign is comprised of both male and female students.

“It was a whole new realm for us — and an exciting one at that,” junior Melica member Jessica Plue said. Plue led the group in its opening number at the competition, a cover of Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse.” Out of 11 schools, Etown was the only institution to have two groups competing. Other competitors included students from Westminster Choir College, the University of Pennsylvania, Rutgers University, Wagner College, New York University, Rodham University, The University of Rochester and Ithaca College. The competition includes a panel of 10 judges who score performers on tone, creativity, musical arrangements, pitch, choreography and solo routines.

“The competition was definitely fierce. Everyone brought their best to ICCAs,” senior Vocalign member Colleen Deegan said. This was her first time competing at the ICCAs. “The experience was amazing,” Deegan said. “I’d never been in an a cappella competition before the ICCAs, and it was more thrilling than I’d ever imagined. The audience, the groups, the atmosphere — it was nerve-wracking but an exhilarating experience.”