Caleb Youngblood
Sports Editor
Photo by Caleb Youngblood
More than 200 students were gathered inside Pohl Gymnasium on the campus of Mississippi University for Women on Nov. 28, 2018. What exactly brought all of these students together?
Dodgeball!
Social clubs teamed up with the MUW Athletics Department to put together a dodgeball tournament to bring a little entertainment to campus. One of the students who decided to get the ball rolling was Bree Berryman, a sophomore Business Management student at The W. Berryman is the secretary of her social club, the Silhouettes.
She felt a need to bring athletics and social clubs together.
“When I was a pledge last year it was the first time that we had athletics back at The W,” said Berryman. “There was like an instant divide when athletics came back, and I like to call it a glass wall.
“So I decided to find a way to bridge that gap.”
After pitching different ideas to her social club, Berryman decided that dodgeball would be the perfect equal ground for athletics and social club members to interact. The only thing left to do was setting things up with the athletics department.
On Wednesday at 6 p.m., a large crowd of students showed up at Pohl Gym. Members of the Silhouettes greeted the mass of students swarming at the doors. There were sign-in sheets for students participating in the dodgeball tournament and sign in-sheets for the spectators of the event.
The teams were chosen at random. There were 16 different groups. The dodgeball tournament began after the teams were established. There were two courts that were used for these games. Each team had to play best two-out-of-three matches against its first opponent. Winners moved on to the next round.
“I was really surprised at how many people showed up,” said Gozie Thomas, a junior Business student. “I heard about it through a couple of my teammates on the cross country team. It was an enjoyable experience, and I wish that there was more events on campus like that.”
More than 100 students actually participated in the dodgeball tournament. The rest of the courts were filled with students showing support for their friends and just having a good time.
“This was a way to mingle with people,” said Allie Russel, sophomore BSN Nursing student and member of the Silhouettes. “Ultimately, it’s to get our name out there and support our athletes.”
The tournament went on for hours before it was finally wrapped up. The gym was filled with shouting and laughter as students competed.
“I enjoyed it because it felt like home,” said Tavonta Jones, junior psychology student and member of the basketball team. “Being involved with other fellow students was very enjoyable.”
The event proved to be a big success and brought students at The W together in a friendly, but competitive environment. More fun events are sure to come in the future.