Coming off a successful 2008-09 season, the women’s club ultimate team at the University reached the top in 2009-10.
On May 31 in Madison, Wisc., Fugue, as the team has named itself, took home the national championship after a nearly perfect season.
The team, led by handlers Julia Sherwood, Molly Suver and Jenica Villamor, beat the University of California, Santa Barbara 15-8 for the title after a dominating run through the national tournament.
In the quarterfinals, Fugue played UCLA and won a 15-5 decision. Then in the semifinals, the team continued to roll with a 15-4 win over Colorado. That set the stage for Oregon’s first trip to the College Championships final game. Last year, the team made it to the semifinals, but failed to qualify, and Oregon came back in 2010 wanting to get back to the top spot in the country.
In the title game against UCSB, Fugue jumped out to an early lead, scoring three straight points. The team extended the lead to 5-1, with UCSB dropping a few key throws that would have closed the gap. At the half, Oregon held an 8-3 advantage and was in control.
UCSB came out in the second half and cut the lead by two goals to 8-5, and made an attempt to tie the game. Both teams traded goals, until, at 11-8, Fugue poured it on and scored four
unanswered points to win 15-8.
Looking ahead, Oregon will have to replace 10 seniors from this year’s championship team if it wants to repeat next year, but with seven juniors, Fugue will still have enough veterans to make another championship run possible.
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