Surrounded by crumpled snack wrappers and crushed beer cans in their common area, the residents of Mod 7 look like typical group of senior residents. But posted on their wall is a large sign with a drawing of a jackhammer and several individuals grappling for possession of a football. That poster represents the force that unites them: intramural sports.

As the college careers of Jesse Barglow '07, Sidney Coren '07, Jim Kahler '07 and David Zimmerman '07 are over now, a memorable era in the history of IM sports at Brandeis ends as well.

In their sophomore years, these best friends founded an IM team they initially named Game Over, and later labeled The Jackhammers.

Three years, 10 sports and six titles later, IM sports have come to define the bonds they share.

"We call one another The Jackhammers outside of IM sports, since it represents our friendship as well," Coren said.

Not only have they become fixtures on the IM sports scene, but they have even transformed into social icons on campus.

"In the locker room during innertube water polo [this year], one kid came up and asked us if we were a fraternity," Coren laughed.

The team played just IM basketball and softball during its first year, winning the basketball title. But over the last two years, The Jackhammers have competed in every IM team sport except for outdoor soccer.

While the four founding members have been constant participants, about 35 of their friends have joined the squad at different times.

Through their active involvement, The Jackhammers have brought a measure of stability to the IM sports program, said Tom Rand, the assistant athletic director for recreation.

"It's great when you can count on the same group to be in everything," Rand said.

When Rand didn't have enough teams to play in his newest intramural sports league, innertube water polo, in spring 2006, he immediately knew on whom to call.

"Innertube water polo was brand new and no one had heard of it," Rand said. "I called [The Jackhammers] and said, 'can you guys get a team in, because I know you always do and I need one more to make the bracket work.' They did it for me."

But what was originally a last-minute fix turned into the defining moment of an IM sports dynasty.

The Jackhammers won the league title with a colossal 1-0 upset over a squad composed of varsity swim team members in a physically-draining championship game.

"Our victory in our first year of IM water polo was probably one of the most rewarding and challenging sporting events that I have ever taken part of," Kahler said.

It was one of several IM championships for The Jackhammers.

The squad also seized the basketball title in 2005, the dodgeball title in 2006, and they won the volleyball, three-on-three basketball and softball tournaments this year.

Competing in every sport means The Jackhammers must sometimes participate in leagues that are unfamiliar to them.

But their success in innertube water polo proved they are quick learners.

"We had a rough couple games [in innertube water polo], especially since we weren't really aquatic athletes naturally," Kahler said.

"But after that, we developed a really good strategy to play."

The Jackhammers' innertube water polo title led to one of several intense rivalries with the varsity athletes who play IM sports.

"The swim team hated us," Zimmerman said. "We beat them in their pool, and they were so upset. This year when I ran into one of the students on the swim team's IM water polo team, I told him I was on The Jackhammers, and he told me 'Oh, you're the enemy.'"

Zimmerman also noted that The Jackhammers have rivalries in IM basketball and softball with members of the men's varsity soccer team.

The Jackhammers' ability to challenge varsity athletes is no surprise, since they possess varsity-level talent themselves.

Barglow was recruited to play on the varsity basketball team, but a back injury from freshman year prevented him from playing.

Coren was part of the basketball team for the first two weeks of his freshman year, but quit due to his commitment as the cello player for the SERP trio, a group of students who receive Brandeis scholarships to master their string instruments over four years.

Kahler was a varsity fencer for three years before dropping out this year to focus on IM sports, he said.

"[Coren] and [Barglow] are very good athletes; they are probably in the top-five basketball players in the school who aren't on the [varsity] team," Rand said.

But The Jackhammers haven't always had their way against varsity athletes.

In innertube water polo this year, the swim team knocked them off for a measure of revenge.

In flag football last year, the Tight Ends, a team composed of varsity baseball players, defeated them by a touchdown in the title game.

Nevertheless, The Jackhammers relish the challenge of playing against varsity athletes.

"The best IM teams we play are usually made up of varsity athletes, and so without that, there would be a lot less competition," Barglow said.

"[Varsity athletes] are the only ones who can beat us," Zimmerman said.

Kahler said that with The Jackhammers core members graduating, Mike Lavner '08 and Dan Shani '08 will be the squad's leaders next season. He added that while the team might not play every single IM sport together in the future, he still expects The Jackhammers to stay intact for football, basketball and softball.

"Hopefully those guys will keep the tradition alive, at least in some sports," Kahler said.