Fugue is a psychological state of mind where one abandons all personal identity and memory. Fugue is also the name of the Oregon women’s club ultimate Frisbee team. Clare Gordon, a senior captain on the team, says the name is supposed to represent every point as a new point; every game as a new game.
“The name came around because we wanted to treat each game as a new chance to do something great and forget about past mistakes,” she said. “Also, the name fugue was suggested after we had a few seasons of bad results and we wanted to start over fresh.”
Four years after the new name was introduced, the team has completed the turnaround by qualifying for the Club Ultimate Frisbee national tournament on May 16. It’s the first time since 2002 that they have qualified for the 16-team field held annually in Boulder, Colo.
Fugue got there by defeating six opponents at regionals on April 26 and 27, including two-time defending national champion Stanford 13-12. The defeat of Stanford was the second time this year the team had beat Stanford, and it showed how much things have changed for the team. The Oregon women finished this year 23-9, including a four-win sweep at sectionals April 12 and five wins at a tournament in late March.
The ultimate Frisbee season starts in the fall and runs through the end of May, but to these girls it’s the promise of athletic competition and camaraderie that attracts them to the sport. Most had never played ultimate before college, and they were persuaded by friends to try it out.
“My friend invited me to play one day, and from then on I was hooked,” said Gordon, a graduate of Reno High School in Nevada.
Jenica Villamoor, club coordinator and sophomore member on the team, agrees.
“I played sports my whole life and ultimate is amazing.”
The team introduces new players to the sport in the fall with a short set of games meant to teach them the intricacies of Frisbee, and then they move on to tournament play in the late winter to begin preparing for nationals.
But it’s not all fun and games for the team, who has to fundraise constantly to pay for the tournament fees, travel costs, and lodging while on the road. Since their victory at regionals, they have been working hard to earn donations. Last week, they set up near the EMU and in front of Lillis to sell Frisbees and ask for peoples’ pocket change.
“We needed to come up with more than $1,200 to pay for everything, and with help from the Club Sports office and donations we got enough to go.” Villamoor said.
The team is very grateful to people for helping them get the opportunity to go play in club ultimate’s most important tournament.
“It’s really overwhelming the support we got from people just donating their pocket change,” Gordon says. “The campus community gave us a big lift.”
Pool play starts this Friday, and with two wins Fugue can advance to the quarter finals on Saturday. Two wins Saturday would allow them to play for the national championship on Sunday.