On March 2, the Northwestern Student-Athlete Alliance Committee held its annual Student-Athlete Lip Sync Battle. The event was put into place to raise money for Northwestern's Dance Marathon. The Lip Sync Battle raised over $900 toward the Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Child & Family Center located in Evanston.

The Lip Sync Battle was full of energy, mostly coming from its enthusiastic hosts, Joe Spivak and Lauryn Satterwhite. Spivak, a junior member of the football team and Satterwhite, a junior member of the champion Women’s basketball team, introduced the show with their own lip-sync performance and set the energy for the rest of the night.

Honorable Mentions:

Photo by Brandi Simpson / North by Northwestern

The Women’s Field Hockey team kicked off the show. Although the group may have lacked their show biz smiles, they were well prepared and gained creativity points from me for using their field hockey sticks as props.

Photo by Brandi Simpson / North by Northwestern

The Women's Cross Country team crossed the stage with a skit performance set in a Zumba studio. They stole my heart from the jump when they used the popular sound bite from Paul Rudd’s interview at Hot Ones. The rest of the performance was full of energy, vibrant colors and flashy choreography.

Photo by Brandi Simpson / North by Northwestern

The Men’s Golf team also had a creative performance, first showcasing the piano skills of David Nyfjall during a mini skit and then breaking out into a dance party with moves that seemed to impress the crowd. I also must say the hip movements by freshman golfer John Driscoll could make any Tik Tok girl jealous.

“As soon as that guy got off the piano, it was awesome,” said Judge Adam Herman.

Photo by Brandi Simpson / North by Northwestern

Quarterback Carl Richardson made his Lip Sync Battle debut as character Napoleon Dynamite from the 2004 film. He performed the famous routine, making the crowd go crazy for his “moves like jagger.”

Winners:

Photo by Brandi Simpson / North by Northwestern

The Women’s Swim and Dive Team won the best choreography award for their routine put together by Senior Krystal Lara. After watching them perform, you’d be surprised they’re not a synchronized swimming team.

Photo by Brandi Simpson / North by Northwestern

The Women’s Soccer team for their flashy Pitbull and Shakira performance. Members of the team dressed up as rapper Pitbull with bald heads and goatees, while Sophomore Cherish Anderson wore a bright red dress and wowed the crowd as Shakira. The Pitbulls brought the comedy and machismo to the performance while Shakira brought the star power. Their performance won them the overall best performance award, previously held by the Women’s Basketball team.

“Are you serious? No that’s a joke,” said a girl sitting behind me.

Although I think they did a great job, I definitely had my heart set on a different performance for first place.

Photo by Brandi Simpson / North by Northwestern

Jordan Hamilton, a junior member of the Women’s Basketball team, won the ‘Cat’s choice award with the help of teammate Lindsey Pulliam. Hamilton’s ‘singing in the shower’ performance was energetic and lively. Her diva dance moves and props made it a performance to remember.

“I didn’t want it to stop,” said Judge Eileen O’Rourke.

Pulliam joined Hamilton on stage acting as her showerhead and keeping a stone-cold face the entire time–a feat that should not be overlooked considering Hamilton’s animated performance. Pulliam contributed to what was easily the most theatrical part of the entire night: a tribute to the iconic water scene in the 1983 film, Flashdance. Hamilton pulled the imaginary rope and Pulliam responded by splashing her with a bucket of water. The crowd erupted and Hamilton had secured her win as ‘Cat’s choice.

I can only wonder which element they will bring to the show next year. I’ve got my fingers crossed for fire.