Chi Omega sisters organized a basketball tournament Saturday afternoon in Cousens Gym to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. They brought in $650, more than last year but fell short of their $1,000 goal.
Junior Lauren Taylor said that she and other members of the sorority became interested in the foundation after seeing a DVD about one of the children it helped.
"Her name was Shelby and her wish was to be in a television commercial," she said.
The short documentary showed Shelby working with a hair stylist and going in front of the cameras for photo and commercial shoots.
Participants in this weekend's event paid $8 each, amounting to $40 for each five-person team, of which there were 14. Chi Omega sisters also sold raffle tickets for $1 each.
Senior and Alpha Epsilon Pi brother Ari Allen assumed the role of DJ for the tournament, and members of the men's basketball team refereed the games.
Team members Jake Weitzen and Pat Sullivan, both seniors, were taking in the atmosphere during the early stages of the double-elimination tournament until they were needed to referee.
"A lot of our friends are playing," Weitzen said. "We're just hanging out to watch some ball."
Heading into the event, teams were generally enthusiastic.
"We like competition, we like playing basketball, and of course, supporting a charity is always a good thing," said senior Andrew Gordetsky, who played on a team called Ghost Riding. "You need a little luck to win these things. Hopefully it'll be us."
The Untouchables eventually prevailed over Theta Chi members, securing a $100 gift certificate to Joshua Tree in Davis Square.
Several other prizes were awarded to runners-up and raffle winners.
"It was pretty competitive," senior and Untouchables member Matt Cohen, who also played on last year's winning squad, said.
Sullivan said that the games were intense, as participants took them very seriously and were not always happy with his refereeing.
Still, he said that members of the basketball team stood by their calls.
"We're bigger than them," he said.
Several of the teams were from fraternities and most were all-male. Still, the Chi Omega sisters also competed, throwing an all-female team into the mix.
"We're going to hold our own," junior Denise Ozpinar said before the tournament began. "We're the underdogs, but we're going to hold our own. I have a really good foul shot."
But the hosts were unable to emerge from the tournament victorious, losing both games they played.
"It was a valiant effort," Taylor said.
"The child that gets granted the wish is the [real] winner," said senior Sarah Ladd, a Chi Omega sister who organized the event.
Cohen agreed.
"We just did it for the charity. We thought it was a really good cause and we wanted to ... chip in," he said.
