Sororities compete in broomball tournament, Phi Sigma Sigma wins all
Finch Fieldhouse echoed with pop and hip-hop classic songs as Central Michigan University sororities competed in the second annual broomball tournament of Sigma Freeze, hosted by Sigma Chi.
Teams competing included the ladies of Delta Zeta, Zeta Tau Alpha, Sigma Sigma Sigma, Alpha Gamma Delta, Phi Sigma Sigma, Alpha Sigma Tau, Alpha Sigma Alpha, Phi Mu, Alpha Chi Omega and Sigma Kappa. Sororities who had more than one team competing included Delta Zeta, Zeta Tau Alpha and Phi Sigma Sigma.
Sigma Freeze is an athletic philanthropy event that includes a hockey and broomball tournament. All proceeds from the event go toward the Huntsman Institute for Cancer Research. Sigma Chi has kept the event going, with the help of other Greek organizations, for four years.
Macomb junior Kellie Hoehing competed with her sisters of Sigma Sigma Sigma during the event and described what broomball is.
"Basically, it's floor hockey with a larger ball and a stick" Hoehing said.
Although she is an avid floor hockey player, she said she has never played a game of broomball before Sigma Freeze.
East Grand Rapids senior Madison Frye represented Phi Mu during her time on the court. She noted that girls are "secretly really competitive."
"It's always fun to go out and do other events than just hang out at our house" Frye said. "Everybody wants to be a winner, and you want to represent your chapter well."
Before the start of the game, players huddled together to review rules for the game. Flags from each sorority were hung against the wall, and each team wore jerseys specific to their chapter. A bracket near the flags recorded wins and loses, and allowed each team to track their progress.
Royal Oak junior Jason Wingate, who is a member of Sigma Chi, was responsible for coordinating the broomball tournament, and was overjoyed to see the players having a good time.
"It's a way to get the girls involved in our philanthropy event, as opposed to just having them come and spectate our hockey games," he said.
Out of more than 200 Sigma Chi chapters in the nation, Wingate said CMU's chapter made the top 10 in terms of money donated to the Huntsman Institute. Wingate said this year's goal is to make it in the top five.
Family members and friends could be spotted with posters supporting their broomball players on the sidelines. After teams were eliminated, many of them stayed to support the others still competing.
In the end, Phi Sigma Sigma won against Alpha Chi Omega in the final game with a score of 2-1.
Freshman Ella Tamayo of Seattle, Washington was surprised when her team won the tournament.
"I thought we were going to lose, but we did pretty good," Tamayo said. "Everyone got really aggressive. It brought out the animal in everyone."
