Phi Mu Sorority took over the Pennington Student Activity Center for their eighth annual Phi Mu Phace-Off Dodgeball Tournament on Sunday, Nov. 11 from noon to 4 p.m. The tournament is one of the sorority’s main philanthropy fundraisers.
“It’s to raise money for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals,” said Brooke Self, a senior majoring in biology and the philanthropy chairman for Phi Mu. “We’re still raising money today, but it’s somewhere around $10,000 dollars. We had a lot of sponsors. That’s how we raised the majority of our money.”
The dodgeball tournament consisted of 28 teams, and each team had seven players. Players received a T-shirt, pizza and water for the registration price of $15.
“The winner gets the Phi Mu Phace-Off trophy, and they always come back to participate every year,” said Self. “It’s an on-going thing. It’s getting bigger every year. Last year we only raised about $8,000, so this year we increased by about $2,000.”
After hours of intense dodgeball play, two teams made it to the championship round: Vinegar Strokes and Scared Hitless.
Vinegar Strokes won every game in the winning bracket up until the finals. Scared Hitless experienced a loss in their first round of the tournament, but managed to defeat every other team in the loser’s bracket. Scared Hitless managed to make the ultimate comeback by defeating Vinegar Strokes twice in the finals.
“We lost our first game early in the day, but our teammates, we came back and we got the win. We won the championship,” said Jamie Dezemdorf, a junior majoring in kinesiology exercise science and member of winning team Scared Hitless. “We got it done. We did what we had to do.”
Despite the competitive spirit of the tournament, the ultimate goal was to raise money for children.
“It feels good. That’s what it’s all about, helping people,” said Dezemdorf about the fundraiser’s cause. “It’s not about winning or losing. It’s just fun.”
Most of Phi Mu attended the event. Some competed, some worked it and others just watched the games. Whatever the case, all members expressed pride over their philanthropy efforts.
“I think that it’s really great that we did this for Children’s Miracle Network, and it’s been a lot of fun to have everyone together and raise the money for that,” said Bailey Murray, a sophomore majoring in nursing and member of Phi Mu.
For more information on Children’s Miracle Network, visit childrensmiraclenetworkhospitals.org.