Squeaking tennis shoes, people rooting for their team and playground balls being launched at heads: this is how the majority of the Greek community spent Saturday afternoon.

The brothers of Sigma Phi Epsilon held their third annual “Dodge for the Doggies” philanthropic dodgeball tournament at the Student Recreation and Wellness Center.

An entry fee of $30 was required from all of the teams. The money was being raised for the Humane Society of greater Akron.

The tournament was done in a bracket style. There were two brackets, one for female participants and one for male participants. Teams included nurses, doctors, Greeks and members of the Kent State Dodgeball Club.

The tournament began when members of the Sigma Phi Epsilon announced the rules and a quick overview of how the bracket system would work.

The fraternity had two courts for the tournament. As the first four teams approached the floor, the confident, aggressive looks on their faces implied they were ready to play.

The referees, who were Sigma Phi Epsilons, made sure the players were aware of the rules before the game started. The referees lifted their left hand: “ready,” then their right hand: “set,” and as their hands dropped: “dodgeball!”

The participants scrambled to the half-court line, where the different colored playground balls were placed. Once all of the balls had been grabbed, they retreated to their respective sides of the court and readied themselves for attack.

When the games began, the crowd was heard unleashing a barrage of cheers for their favorite teams. “Hit him in the face,” said one crowd member, offering advice to one of his fraternity brothers.

The gym filled with Sigma Phi Epsilon’s mix of rap music to get the teams pumped up. As the competition went on and the brackets got smaller, the teams were observed to strategize.

The dodgeball participants of Pi Kappa Alpha surged into the semi-finals. Before their match started against members of the Kent State Dodgeball Club, they huddled in a circle to talk strategy. They tried to decide who would be their biggest competition, and ultimately decided to aim low.

As the Rec increased in temperature, the male participants began to perspire profusely, while the females waited anxiously on the sidelines for a court to open.

The last two female teams were Delta Gamma and Sigma Sigma Sigma. The women of Sigma Sigma Sigma didn’t have a strategy.

“We just want to go out there and have fun and win,” said Lauren Marcelonis, sophomore pre-computer information systems major. “We are just here to have fun and raise money for the Humane Society. It’s a really good cause.”

When the women’s tournament was over, Delta Gamma sorority stood triumphant over their competitors.

The prizes for each of the winning teams were baskets full of items from local businesses such as Pita Pit, Zeppe’s Pizzeria and Campus Pointe Apartments.

After the female bracket was done, the male brackets continued. As the afternoon progressed and the participants grew more and more fatigued, teammates placed ice cubes on each other’s necks to stay cool.

The men’s teams from the Greek community were no match for the Dodgeball Club’s honed dodgeball-ing skills, and unfortunately for those non-members, both teams that competed in the final were of the club. The final was comprised of two matches, double elimination.

The brothers of Sigma Phi Epsilon, and all the tournament participants raised nearly $1,000 at the event.

Contact Nicole Winkleman at [email protected].