DeKALB | Matches eight and nine of tugs took place Wednesday. Sigma Alpha Mu and Delta Chi faced each other in match eight, and Sigma Alpha Mu came up with the win. Delta Chi will take ninth place, and Sigma Alpha Mu will move on to match 10 against Sigma Nu, which will take place 3:30 p.m. Thursday.

Alpha Kappa Lambda and Tau Kappa Epsilon competed earlier Wednesday for match nine, and Tau Kappa Epsilon took the win. Tau Kappa Epsilon will move on to match 14 taking place 11 a.m. Saturday. Alpha Kappa Lambda has the chance to land 7th place Saturday at 10:30 a.m. if they win.

Johnny Carvahal, Sigma Alpha Mu freshman physical education major, said their speed and aggressiveness won them the match against Delta Chi.

“It allowed us to gain advantage quickly, and that really just motivated each member to work harder,” Carvahal said.

Carvahal said he personally was proud to be on that rope with his brothers who kept him focused.

“Great athletes don’t overthink — they just react,” Carvahal said.

Sam Vanderhei, Sigma Alpha Mu senior mechanical engineering major, is expecting their match against Sigma Nu to be a good one.

“They are a good, strong team, and it’s going to be a fight to the end,” Vanderhei said.

Sigma Alpha Mu is going to prepare for their match against Sigma Nu by continuing to keep a strong mindset.

Jesse Melow, Delta Chi junior political science major, said there is always a challenge when facing Sigma Alpha Mu.

“[Sigma Alpha Mu] is always well prepared and very skilled, so they are always a tough team to tug,” Melow said. “That being said, I’d have to say the biggest challenge for us was bringing energy to the match. We had one of the longest matches in IFC history yesterday, 63 minutes, so we were still drained and trying to heal up from that.”

Delta Chi has struggled against Sigma Alpha Mu the past three years, falling to them each time.

“It’s tough to acknowledge a streak like that, but we have to give them credit where credit is due,” Melow said.

The next tugs matches will take place 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m Thursday.