Sports
Thursday, April 21, 2016
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2016 IFC Tugs
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The Northern Star will continue covering all nine men’s Tugs teams as the tournament nears. The first round of matches is set to begin Monday and championship matches will take place April 30.
Northern Star File Photo
Tim Gibson, Phi Kappa Theta member, tugs on the third day of the tournament in 2014. Phi Kappa Theta was eliminated by Sigma Alpha Epsilon in 2014 and didn’t compete in the event in 2015.
Phi Kappa Theta returns after year off from Tugs Krystal Ward Staff writer
DeKalb | Phi Kappa Theta heads into men’s Tugs as a ninth seed this year after the team was not allowed to participate in the event last year due to an internal conflict within the fraternity. Matt Green, Phi Kappa Theta president, has been tugging since his freshman year. As a sophomore, Green was the back rope caller, which is an assistant to the head caller. Green’s job then was to relay messages to the back of the team because of how loud Tugs can get. He is now the second rope caller. “We’re basically the quarterback of a football team,” Green said when describing the role of a caller. “We’re the ones that are reading the other team as they are doing their moves. We can call countermoves, primary offensive moves and defensive moves. We take what the other team is trying to do and strategize against them and put it
into effect for our team.” Training starts between December and January and practices run from 9:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Phi Kappa Theta has a “no drinking” policy for about a month prior to the tournament. The policy is only lifted for special occasions, such as sorority formals.
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In the past we have been a first, second, third place caliber team. We got taken out of the tournament, didn’t get to tug last year and now we had to come back as the nine-seed ... .” Matt Green Phi Kappa Theta President
The team’s first rope is currently five pounds more than the average and the second rope is 10 pounds more than the average. Green said the team is going to start checking its weight daily to make sure it’s
on track as the tournament nears — teams must weigh in before the tournament starts and hold a specific average weight. “In the past we have been a first, second, third place caliber team,” Green said. “We got taken out of the tournament, didn’t get to tug last year and now we had to come back as the nine-seed, but we still tug like we’re at the second, third place level.” Green said he’s most excited to go up against Sigma Alpha Epsilon, which beat Phi Kappa Theta in the semifinals in 2014. If they make it to the quarterfinals this year, Phi Kappa Theta will meet Sigma Alpha Epsilon again. “They have always been a very tough competition for us, probably one of our bigger rival fraternities,” Green said. “This is a huge, hyped up match around Greek Row right now. Some even say it’s potentially the championship of the tournament happening in the quarterfinals.”
Northern Star File Photo
Members of Phi Kappa Psi tug in a practice prior to the 2015 tournament. The fraternity finished seventh in the event last year.
Phi Kappa Psi chasing second championship Krystal Ward Staff writer
DeKalb | Phi Kappa Psi will come into 2016 as a one-time winner of men’s Tugs, taking home their only championship title in 2011. Practices start about two weeks before winter break for Phi Kappa Psi and consist of a myriad of different exercises. Their practices usually start around 9 p.m. and end at 11:30 p.m. After practicing a variety of moves and returning from a second run, Phi Kappa Psi practices a live which is a practice match similar to the matches at the tournament. They end the night with a third run before calling it a night. The team also tries to avoid alcohol for a month before the tournament. Each rope has an average weight that needs to be met and this year, Phi Kappa Psi needs to lose weight to meet the average. Daniel Snyder, senior Phi Kappa Psi member, has already began his process of losing
weight for the tournament. “Personally, I’ve gone on a stricter diet,” Snyder said. “I’ve lost around 10 pounds.” Snyder, who has been tugging for three years, is most excited to face Phi Sigma Kappa, a fraternity that has a winning history in the tournament. Phi Sigma Kappa has won the event in three of the last four years. “Our first match this year is [against] Phi [Sigma Kappa] and they got second last year and they’re notorious for being good and winning,” Snyder said. “But this year, we’re also very strong. I have a lot of confidence. We have a lot of veterans on our rope that have tugged three, four years so I’m pretty confident this year. I think it’ll definitely be interesting.” The fraternity, founded at NIU in 2007, has done well in the event, winning the title in just its fourth year. A win next week would give Phi Kappa Psi their first individual win in its history. They came in seventh place in 2015.
Softball on pace to finish with most wins in 16 years Christopher Loggins Sports Editor T @NSSportsLoggins
DeKalb | Softball will look to climb
back to the top of the MAC West this week as it takes on Eastern Michigan University in a series starting at 1 p.m. Friday in Ypsilanti, Mich. The Huskies (28-13) have lost five of their last 10 games after a 14-game winning streak. They still hold the best record in all of the MAC but are second in the West due to Western Michigan University having a
better conference record. The Huskies are 10-6 at home and 4-4 on the road this season. Eastern Michigan is currently 18-23 and on a four-game winning streak — its best stretch of the season. The team is third in the MAC West and holds an 8-6 record in the conference. NIU and Eastern Michigan last faced off in the 2014-15 season in a two-game series — the Huskies swept the Swoops, scoring five runs in both games. Senior catcher Emily Naegele and
junior first baseman Kayti Grable have led an explosive NIU offense this season. Naegele is hitting an impressive .410 in 41 games, picking up 16 home runs, 47 runs batted in, nine doubles, 48 hits and 38 runs. She has picked up a team-best .932 slugging percentage and a .517 on-base percentage. Grable is second on the team in most of the same categories, tallying a .394 batting average with 39 hits, seven doubles, five home runs, 39 runs batted in and 23 runs. She has a .512 on-base percentage and a .616
slugging percentage. The Huskies still have 11 games remaining in the regular season, three of which will come at home. They still have a chance to finish the season with the top record in the MAC. The next best team is Miami University, who stands at 25-17 and 10-3 in the conference but is on a three-game losing streak. NIU has already tied its win total from last season at 28 and is on pace for one of its best seasons ever. Barring an unforeseen meltdown, the
Softball records 2015: 28-25 2014: 26-31 2013: 27-31
Huskies will likely reach 30 wins for the first time since 2000 when they went 33-22. Their best season came in 1993 when they went 40-18 under head coach Dee Abrahamson.