The Shades of Blue a cappella ensemble isn't just here to sing around State College -- it's here to win.

The Penn State Shades of Blue will compete March 27 in the regional semi-finals of the 2009 Varsity Vocals International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) at Rutgers University in New Jersey. The group won second place at the ICCA Mid-Atlantic quarterfinal held at HUB-Alumni Hall Saturday, according to Penn State Live. The event was co-hosted by Penn State a cappella groups None of the Above and The Pennharmonics.

Runner-up Shades of Blue is now focusing on its next step: Rutgers. This is Shades of Blue's fourth year competing in the ICCA, said Rachel Kauffman, the group's business manager. Last year, the group placed second at the semi-finals, she said, and this year, they want to win it all.

"Our goal is to get first this year," Kauffman (junior-psychology) said. "In order to make it to the finals in New York, we'd have to place first."

Out of seven ensembles competing in the regional quarterfinals at Penn State, Shades of Blue placed second to Ithacapella, an all-male group from Ithaca College in Ithaca, N.Y.

The Daily Collegian had not received responses to multiple e-mails sent to Ithacapella by Thursday.

In addition to its second place honor, Kauffman said the group won three special awards.

Group member Rachel Dungan (sophomore-music and biobehavioral health) said the ensemble was happy with its ICCA experience.

"As a group, we all really enjoyed the music we were performing and felt really confident about the set," Dungan said.

Dungan said the group's goal for Rutgers is to "go into it feeling prepared ... and just enjoy it."

Group members said they are aware of the preparation needed to compete at such a high level.

"Our plan is to keep the same set and work on cleaning it up ... to make sure everything looks really professional," Dungan said.

Shades of Blue plans to perform at Rutgers using the same songs it did in the quarterfinals.

Kauffman said the group went into the ICCA show after only a few weeks of rehearsing their three-song set.

"I felt that we did a really outstanding job considering the fact that we pulled together our set in the last few weeks," Dungan said.

The group, which usually practices twice a week for two hours, met three times a week this semester in preparation for the quarterfinal.