By Alysa TeichmanThe Daily Northwestern

The Undertones sang their way into judges’ hearts at last weekend’s Midwest International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella quarterfinals, becoming the first Northwestern group ever to win first place.

“Half the group was caught off guard that we won,” said Joyee Lin, Communication junior and assistant musical director. “We couldn’t even sleep the night before because we were so nervous.”

As the judges announced the first runner-up of the contest – University of Michigan’s Dicks & Janes – several members of the Undertones were surprised because they thought that group had won.

The Undertones were announced next as the winner of the contest with 439 out of 465 possible points. The runner-up received only 396 points.

“They were the clear winners,” said Julie Moffit, the producer for the Midwest championships. “Usually the spread isn’t nearly that large.”

The fact that the Undertones were “very tight and very polished,” Moffit said, helped them clinch the top spot.

“They spent a lot of time practicing and making sure everyone knew the parts,” she said. “Another part of the process is deciding what songs will appeal to the audience. I remember thinking they picked really good songs, too.”

The Undertones performed Savage Garden’s “I Want You”, Alanis Morisette’s “You Oughta Know” and LFO’s “Every Other Time.”

The group prepared for the contest by holding multiple rehearsals and spending extra time on details such as costumes and choreography. Each of the four judges gave the Undertones a score of 10 out of 10 on professionalism.

“Looking at the other groups, none of them really had a lot of professionalism,” said Weinberg senior Ben Lieberman, the group’s musical director. “If you’re being silly on stage, you should be silly together.”

Moffit said the group’s choreography for “You Oughta Know” struck a special chord with the audience because the Undertones substituted a special choreography move for swear words.

Lin also won an award for outstanding choreography.

“It was just so perfect,” Moffit said. “The audience knew exactly what the move meant since they were expecting to hear the word.”

Undertones members were pleased that their hard work over the past several months paid off at the quarterfinals.

“We knew exactly what we were shooting for,” Lin said. “We had to be a polished, professional-looking group. It was definitely the little things, the in-between things.”

The Undertones will compete in the semifinals at 8 p.m. March 31 in Cahn Auditorium.

If the group wins, it will advance to the finals at New York City’s Lincoln Center.

Reach Alysa Teichman at [email protected].