In a true testament to how far the program has come in just two years, the Grand Canyon University Club A Cappella Canyon Crescendos posted an impressive 3^rd-place finish out of 11 teams at the Varsity Vocals International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella Southwest Quarterfinals in San Diego, California, Saturday night. Making only their second appearance ever in the competition, the performance was nearly good enough to qualify the Lopes for the semifinal round next month, losing out to teams from Chapman University for the two automatic bids.
 
It was the first time the Lopes had to travel out-of-state to compete in the competition, having been sent to Southern California after there were too many teams entered into the competition held in Scottsdale. Undeterred, the Crescendos found their rhythm quickly in their three-song set, knocking out Delta Rae's "Bottom of the River", Avi Kaplan's haunting "Change on the Rise" and the song used in the HBO series 'Euphoria', "All For Us" from Zendaya and Labrinth. The Lopes had to wait for all 11 groups to perform their sets before breaking into euphoric celebration when their 3^rd-place finish was announced.




 
















In addition to the 3^rd-place certificates, two Lopes' singers, Andrew Stoa and Lee Kingwood, won the event's Outstanding Vocal Percussion award for their rhythm during 'Bottom of the River'.
 


















The weekend was the end of a historic two weeks for the Lopes, who also made their first-ever road trip the week before the San Diego journey to Los Angeles, where they participated in the Los Angeles A Cappella Festival.
 
The Lopes will now get some much-deserved rest before finishing off the 2023-24 season with the annual GCU Spring A Cappella Showcase in April.