The women of Divisi are celebrating this week after winning the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella quarterfinal competition Saturday night, beating the defending national champions on their way to victory.
“When we walked off stage people were feeling extremely positive,” said Emmalee Almroth, a member of the group. “About half the group broke down … I personally felt a bit detached because I was so focused and in the zone of performing, not really paying attention to the surroundings.”
Divisi, along with the women of Brigham Young University’s Noteworthy, who came in second, will perform at the ICCA semifinal at March 15 at the Marin Center for Performing Arts in San Rafael, Calif.
Until then, the University women will “work on fine tuning,” Almroth said. “We’ve already gotten pretty solid on our set. We will bring in some outside opinion.”
Saturday’s competition at the Hult Center was one of 18 quarterfinals held around the country. On the Rocks, the University’s men’s a cappella group, finished in third place.
In addition to the best overall performance, Divisi walked away with the prize for best soloist for Haley Steinberger’s performance of the Dixie Chicks’ “Truth No. 2.” The group was also given the award for best choreography.
The other competitors included Divine, a women’s group from Oregon State University; PLUtonic, a men’s group from Pacific Lutheran University; and Dulcet, a co-ed group from Southern Oregon University.
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