The fall brings pretty leaves, crisp air and warm sweaters. At Union University, fall brings the start of intramural sports.
Each fall semester students are encouraged and given the opportunity to participate in competitive sports just for fun. Not everyone has the ability to play sports on a collegiate level, but intramurals is a great way to get involved, build friendships and stay active.
A major intramural sport of the fall is football, which wrapped up about two weeks ago.
Toby Brown, assistant director of wellness services, said, “Overall, 37 teams in four different divisions totaling 442 participants played this intramural football season.”
For lower division girls, the final game was between Rho Alpha and The Pharm Girls, with Rho Alpha coming out on top, 6-0. In upper division, the girls championship was played by Chi-O 1 and Pick 6. Chi Omega won 20-14.
Ashton Williams, senior elementary education major and Chi-O 1 teammate said, “To me winning meant us being able to come together as a chapter and succeed. We played well and we got the outcome we wanted. Winning is always exciting so it was a fun night for our chapter.”
Boys lower division was played by the P4’s and The Water Boys, with the P4’s winning the championship 14-12. The upper division boys game was played by SAE 1 and Lambda Chi 1, with SAE 1 winning 33-0.
“It’s always fun and rewarding to win, but at the end of the day making memories and the experiences I’ve had with intramurals are the things I’ll remember in the long run,” senior athletic training major and SAE 1 teammate, Matthew McSwain said. “This was my third championship, but each team was different so building a bond with so many different guys is really cool. I know people say it’s just intramurals, but seeing each other succeed in anything is always special.”
Other major moments in the intramural football season include the two games between ATO 1 and Lambda Chi 1. In the regular season, ATO won by one point in the final seconds of the game due to a Lambda Chi player stepping out of bounds. However, in the semi-finals, the same teams faced off, which resulted in the opposite outcome. Lambda Chi 1 scored in the last 19 seconds to make the final score 7-6, knocking ATO 1 out of the tournament.
Brown said, “The game was very exciting and the competition was high.”
Currently, the intramural volleyball season is heating up. So far there are 38 teams with 347 participants.
Brown said, “The number of players are expected to rise since individuals can be added to the roster up until playoffs.”
Last but not least for the fall semester is water polo and a potential indoor soccer tournament. Be on the lookout for signups coming the first of Decemeber.
