As winter intramurals approach, students anticipate friendly community competition amongst old rivals, as well as a chance to redeem their past stats and bond with peers over their love of sports.
Every quarter at SPU, students are given the opportunity to participate in fun, challenging and competitive team sports under the management of Intramural Director Adam Finch.
In the fall, students competed in flag-football, volleyball, open-gym basketball, table tennis and Ultimate Frisbee.
Senior Drew Smith, a player on the Ultimate Frisbee championship team of 2017, loved winning, but isn’t “all about it.”
“Winning the championship meant more to me than graduating,” Smith joked. “In all seriousness, it was a fun pastime, but I was mostly in it for the food after the games.”
Winter quarter intramurals entail six different team sports: basketball, dodgeball, soccer, volleyball, table tennis and badminton. Table tennis and badminton sign ups will remain open until the end of the quarter.
The annual basketball league, one of the most popular intramural sports, begins on Jan. 16.
Junior Jordan Lewis, an avid basketball fan, can’t wait to return to the court for the third year with her team, the Super Sonics.
Lewis, a premed student who played varsity basketball in high school, enjoys being able to play the sport she loves as a study break.
“I mostly play intramurals as a way to relieve stress, stay active and spend time with my friends,” Lewis stated. “Winning is always good though, of course.”
In winter 2017, Lewis’s team, Team Name, ranked second in the women’s league overall, scoring an average of 30 points per game.
Since the teams often change around per season, Lewis is unsure of their competition this year, but is confident in her teammates thus far.
Along with the competition students face on the court, many will find themselves competing against the hall of fame records set by previous competitors.
Currently, Nakaira Petty holds the record at scoring with 110 points in the women’s intramural basketball league of 2012. Allison Luna holds the record of 32 points in a game.
Haley Ballard, a junior, looks forward to getting out there and having fun this basketball season.
“I’m a biology student, and I don’t care if we win or lose honestly,” Ballard said.
“I just want to have fun with my friends as an active study break,” Ballard said.
Cathryn Perisic, also a junior, tries to play intramural sports whenever she can.
“I’ve played kickball and basketball,” Perisic said. “It’s always a good time.”
For Jander Cline, a first year at SPU, this basketball season means proving himself on the court.
“I played varsity in high school,” Cline expressed. “I would have loved to have tried to walk on to the SPU team this year, but I missed my chance.”
Cline, a forward from Hertitage High school in Vancouver, hopes to play anywhere that gives him an opportunity, even if that means transferring schools.
This intramural season, he hopes to score an average of 14 points and two dunks per game, along with four assists and 10 rebounds.
“Hopefully that will be enough to get me noticed,” Cline stated. “I hope to help bring my team to the championship.”
Though Cline holds himself to high scoring standards, SPU alumni Steven Dressler holds the hall of fame records of 32 points in a game and 134 points in a season.
Registrations for intramural teams will be open until Wednesday, Jan. 10.
