By BJ Lewis

Staff Writer

The softball team from the Beta Psi chapter of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority will make their second trip to the state intramural tournament this week.

The women of Alpha Chi Omega were first runners up in the tournament at Lafayette last year, losing to Louisiana State University-Baton Rouge in the championship game.

"[LSU]'s coach even said they were surprised a sorority team made it that far," Ashley Landrum, the head of chapter relations and a junior biology major, said.

"They thought it was just going to be a joke; they didn't take us seriously."

The other teams were not the only ones to be a little skeptical of the team's caliber.

"When I joined the sorority they told me they had a softball team and I was like 'OK, who's athletic in a sorority?'" Jennifer Sharp, the sorority's vice president of communications and a senior biology major, said. "I just thought they had their parties and helped out in the community. [During rush] they're all pretty and dressed up, and you wouldn't expect them to be athletes."

In intramurals, there are four divisions of teams: Greeks, departmental, residence halls and independents. After the divisions have played each other, the teams with the best records enter a playoff.

The winner of the playoff is declared campus champion.

The campus champion represents Tech at the state tournament. There is a slight snag with the time of the tournament, however.

"We're on the quarter system so that puts us a little behind other schools, so other schools finish earlier," Ronnie Wiggins, the director of recreational services, said.

The state tournament is held in April, since many other schools' classes are done by the first part of May, Wiggins said. So a team's state appearance is for the previous year's record.

"We offer teams a chance to represent us the next year since they couldn't the year before," Wiggins said.

Alpha Chi Omega finished with a 12-2 record last year, including the tournament, and is off to a 2-0 record this year. If Alpha Chi Omega continues their unbeaten streak this year, they will represent Tech next year.

"It's not varsity sports but we're serious [now] because we're going to state," Kira Clements, the president of Tech's chapter and a junior biology major, said.

All it takes is some positive words to make Alpha Chi Omega successful.

"We get serious when it's time to get serious É we don't yell at each other or anything," Landrum added.

"Our coach doesn't yell; it's just 'Hey, you need to do better,' but it's encouraging at the same time," Landrum said.

Alpha Chi Omega members are looking forward to the tournament for the games, as well at the experiences and relationships made better from it.

"It's going to be a fun weekend for us to get away and spend time together," Clements said. "You learn a lot of stuff about girls you wouldn't learn in the house."