DeKALB – After a 41-minute battle for the third rope, Phi Kappa Psi defeated Delta Chi in match one of the 2023 Interfraternity Council men’s Tugs competition. Phi Sigma Kappa defeated Phi Kappa Theta in a 20-minute landslide victory.

MATCH ONE

The two fraternities dug in at 3:30 p.m. and battled until 5:27 p.m., a total of one hour and 57 minutes with two eight-minute intermissions.

Matteo De Leon, a sophomore kinesiology major tugging for Phi Psi, expressed his excitement about his fraternity’s win.

“It feels good to get the nerves out during the first match,” De Leon said. “It’s always great to recognize and see what we need to work on for the next one.”

NIU students showed up for their fellow Huskies participating in day one of Tugs. De Leon commented on the effect of the crowd during the match.

“The crowd’s energy is always great,” De Leon said. “Even though you kind of drown it out while you’re focused during the match, you can always tune back into that … It helps with the momentum a lot. I mean, once you pull off a move and you hear the crowd roar, it gets you going. Kind of get that second wind.”

Phi Psi won the first two ropes after Delta Chi gave up more twine in each of the two 15-minute rounds.

The third round ended due to fatigue from the Delta Chi tuggers after 41 minutes of action.

MATCH TWO

Match two was a 20-minute affair with Phi Sigma Kappa defeating Phi Kappa Theta in two rounds. Both rounds lasted 10 minutes each.

Phi Sigma succeeded in pulling the center rope marker into the first trench without much resistance in the first round. The second round was ended by Phi Kappa Theta’s caller due to lack of coordination from the team.

Alpha Sigma Phi will face Tau Kappa Epsilon at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday followed by Sigma Nu against Sigma Alpha Epsilon at 5 p.m. at 912 Edgebrook Drive.