On Saturday, Jan. 14, one of Villanova’s nine a capella teams —the Supernovas— represented the school at the annual International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) Mid-Atlantic Quarterfinals at Drexel University. There, they competed against nine other of the best intercollegiate a capella teams in front of thousands of attendees to determine which teams moved forward in the competition. The Supernovas made the University proud by coming in first place—their first time doing so at the Quarterfinals since 2020.
Hailey Falzone, Villanova senior and Supernova team member, went into detail about the hard work that the Supernovas did to prepare for the event. The Supernovas ran “bootcamps,” for three whole weekends prior to their competition where the members spent hours learning the music, learning the choreography and putting the final performance together.
“We’ll spend seven hours on a Friday, twelve hours on a Saturday and seven hours on a Saturday,” Falzone said about the effort the team dedicated to this event. “So, it’s a lot of hours for a couple different weekends, where we just put everything together.”
The set they prepared comprised of the following songs: King’s Affirmation by Iniko, Make Up Your Mind by Florence & The Machine, Cowboy Take Me Away by the Chicks and Naeem by Bon Iver.
Senior Gavin Crozier acted as arranger for the team, and his work was so magnificent that he won the award for Outstanding Arrangement for the entire set. Helping him were junior Gianna Angelone, sophomore Lauren Fisher and sophomore Zoe Hart. Their collective genius combined with the skills, dedication and talent of the entire team was what led to victory.
“When we finished the set, the crowd erupted and I was so proud of everyone sitting on that stage with me, because there were so many ups and downs,” Falzone said. “Nothing comes easy, but that’s not really the point. The point is to be working hard to earn what you get in the end.”
Falzone describes joining the Supernovas as the best decision she made as a Villanova student. She described it not just as joining an a capella group, but rather a family.
“We all just cried because we were just so happy with the product we had put on that stage. And we felt that even if things don’t go our way, we all really synced together on that stage and put our best performance out there.”
Like a true family, the Supernovas have supported Falzone through every responsibility, obligation and hardship. As the president of LEVEL, vice-president of SNAP and a member of four different nursing boards outside of Villanova, calling her busy would be a massive understatement and yet the team has made sure to accommodate her schedule and encourage her to chase every goal.
Students interested in learning more about the Supernovas or joining the group can find more information about them on Instagram @vusupernovas. They can also be found on YouTube, VUGroups and TikTok, with links to them being available on the Student Ensemble section of the school website.
“Don’t let anything stop you from chasing your dreams and trying something new, because I guarantee you won’t regret joining the Supernovas. No one ever does,” Falzone concluded.
Students should also be sure to mark March 21 on their calendars as The Supernovas will be competing in the ICCA Mid-Atlantic Semifinals in Wilmington, DE. As they move forward in the competition, this campus will be cheering them on from afar.
