Mr. and Mrs. Greek Week crowned

Students Caitlin O’Neill of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority and Peter Goretoy of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity at the University of Rhode Island were crowned Mr. and Mrs. Greek Week this past Monday night after testing their formalwear, questionnaire, swimwear and talent.

Greek life members Alex Rossi and Kelly Fox hosted the show. Ten women represented URI’s sororities and 13 men represented their fraternities. Each contestant had the chance to walk out in front of four judges and present their formal attire. The sorority women dressed in striking gowns while the fraternity men presented themselves in suits.

One by one, each student was asked a random question on the spot by the judges. Some of the contestants were asked about their greatest accomplishment or their definition of success while others were asked why they chose to “go Greek” or their greatest academic achievement at the university.

During the swimsuit round, some contestants tried to give a performance to stand out. Phi Sigma Sigma’s contestant wore a bikini like the rest of the girls, but dressed as a lifeguard and whistled at her Greek week pairing in the audience. Some women chose to model, and most of the men ripped off their shirt before presenting their swimwear.

After the first two rounds, the judges picked their top five male and female contestants to move onto the final round. The sororities chosen included Sigma Kappa, Alpha Xi Delta, Zeta Tau Alpha, Alpha Phi and Alpha Delta Pi. Out of the 13 fraternities, Tau Kappa Epsilon, Sigma Pi, The Pi Kappa Alpha, Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Sigma Chi were chosen.

A majority of the contestants were musically inclined, and chose to perform with an instrument. The Sigma Kappa contestant started the round by playing a soft and sweet performance on her violin. Sigma Pi’s contestant, despite his nerves, sang “Love Yourself” by Justin Bieber and played along on the guitar.

Although Alpha Phi and Sigma Alpha Epsilon contestants played the piano as their talent, Goretoy blew the audience away with his performance on the piano of “Rather Be” by Clean Bandit. Goretoy opened his performance by thanking his friend and contestant in Lambda Chi Alpha for letting him use his keyboard. Once Goretoy began playing, the entire audience began singing along in unison and after he finished, the crowd erupted into a standing ovation.

Aside from instruments, Alpha Delta Pi’s contestant performed a hip hop dance routine, and O’Neill danced a choreographed tap routine. To change things up, Tau Kappa Epsilon’s contestant made objects and animals out of balloons, Alpha Zeta Tau’s contestant drew a portrait with glue and Sigma Chi contestant performed an acrobatic routine.

The 10 contestants changed back into their formalwear and Goretoy and O’Neill were pronounced Mr. and Mrs. Greek Week. Zeta Tau Alpha is paired with Sigma Phi Epsilon and The Pi Kappa Alpha is paired with Alpha Delta Pi. Both pairings will receive points toward their overall Greek Week score.

“It’s very exciting [to win],” O’Neill said. “I practiced a lot. I compete in pageants, I’m Miss Southern Rhode Island. So it was a nice opportunity to get out there and practice my talent.”

Goretoy explained how winning felt “surreal” and he was happy to make his chapter proud and “take home the win for the boys.”

“I was not expecting to win, there were so many talented performers there that night and it really could gone either way,” Goretoy said. “I felt blessed to have as much support as I did from my chapter.”

The Greek Week events continue tonight with Greek Sing and tomorrow with Lip Sync in Keaney Auditorium. For more information, check out URI Greek Life on Instagram.