The Club Sports women’s ultimate team wrapped up its season Sunday at the national championships. The last competition of the season for the Oregon women left them with a top-eight finish in Spokane after being eliminated in the quarterfinals.
Oregon began the tournament with pool play Friday. The Ducks demolished Yale 15-5, then defeated Bucknell but lost to Carlton. The women then defeated Penn State in the fourth round to face Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the quarterfinals.
The Ducks took a 4-1 lead in the first half but could not maintain it as MIT charged back for the win in the second half .
“We were really satisfied,” Oregon coordinator Serena Woods said. “We played well but probably could have won. But it’s not like we threw the game away.”
Stanford was the only other team to represent the Northwest, and the Cardinal walked away with the championship trophy. For the Ducks, they reached both their goals — making it to nationals and placing in the top 10.
“We planned our season right, because we peaked at nationals,” Woods said.
Oregon can only be optimistic about next year in light of the improvements made by each individual throughout the course of the season. Although they will be losing a few players to graduation, the Ducks have a good group to build on for next year.
“I’m definitely excited because we have a solid core group of people coming back,” sophomore co-captain Chelsea Dangler said.

Jiu-Jitsu gets started
Oregon now has a new club sport to add to its roster as the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu club was established last month.
Brazilian jiu-jitsu is not a traditional-form martial art, but attracts students from all walks of life, graduate student Jayson Chun said.
The sport has become famous by the Ultimate Fighting Championships.
“It eliminates all punching and kicking,” Chun said. “It’s like a hybridization of wrestling.”
The Oregon team successfully hosted their first tournament a few weeks ago in the Student Recreation Center. The Ducks had 42 people compete in different weight categories.
“I’m very pleased with the club,” Chun said. “People were training hard but had no competition.”
This art of jiu-jitsu was established by the Gracie family in Brazil in the 1920s. Matches are five minutes long, and contestants win by forcing their opponents to submit. In other words, the object is to put one’s opponent in a position they can not get out of.
The sport emphasizes ground fighting and is also a form of self-defense. If no one has submitted after five minutes of competition, the winner is determined by a point system.
The team currently practices from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday in Mat Room No. 2 at the Rec Center. The Ducks will also compete in regional tournaments over the summer and continue practice.