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NEWS
| SEPTEMBER 27, 2005
Mud, Sweat and Cheers
More than 80 teams slosh through
Oozeball
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| The Shorthorn: Mark Roberts |
| Biology junior Yasi Yazhari
is carried against her will by a friend toward
an Oozeball court on Friday. Even spectators were at risk
of leaving the event caked in mud. |
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By Michelle
Echevarria
The Shorthorn Staff
Wrestling, music and mud were the main ingredients at the 16th annual
Oozeball event Friday.
More than 80 teams registered for the mud volleyball tournament,
which attracted more than 600 students.
Teams anxiously waited at the sideline bleachers to start, duct
taping each other’s shoes to make it easier to maneuver in
the mud.
The Zeta Babies and Rick James were the first teams called to the
court, signaling the start of Oozeball.
Teams jumped and dived for the mud-covered volleyballs, sliding
on their hands and knees to turn the event into an extreme volleyball
battle.
As people taped and retaped shoes, a fire hose doused the courts
to keep the mud wet, while others mud wrestled on unused courts.
Kinesiology senior Amber Alexander, a member of the Mud Flaps team,
said she just likes the fun of the tournament.
“We have the sloppy volleyball approach,” she said.
“We don’t actually try, we just play and go out there
and have fun.”
Once finished with a match, teams headed to the portable showers
to wash the caked mud off their clothes and shoes.
Psychology sophomore Rocio Estrada had just finished a game that
she had decided to play with duct-taped flip-flops.
“I wasn’t going to play, but I did on the last minute,”
she said.
Music education junior Megan Ridley was covered in mud from head
to toe.
“It feels kind of cool to be caked in mud,” she said.
“It feels heavy, and it feels like you are covered in this
goo that gets hard as it dries.”
Nursing freshman Sara Ortega a member of Lion Pride, had fun in
her first tournament, even though it ended with a loss.
“We lost our third game,” she said. “It was a
ton of fun, especially getting tackled in the mud.”
When the championship elimination round began, the crowd roared
as balls bounced from one end of the court to the other.
The Dirty Ballas and BSM were the two teams left, and the Dirty
Ballas took the muddy crown when BSM couldn’t return the serve.
Mika Shorter, team captain and interior design junior, said she
thought they picked an excellent team and felt great about the win.
“We feel great, and our skin is nice and smooth,” she
said. “This Oozeball turned out better than last year.”
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