Story by Justin Gotchall
Photos by Alicia Greenwell

At the UO, we take pride in our athletic excellence. After all, this is Track Town, USA, home of the Ducks and one of the nation’s loudest stadiums. Last year Ducks across the country watched with bated breath as the football team played for the National Championship. Students packed Mac Court to watch the event televised. Despite that loss, however, last year the UO did have a national champion, one ESPN College GameDay didn’t talk about: Fugue, the women’s Ultimate team. Two years ago Fugue took third in the nation, then turned around and won the championship the very next year.
Fugue is made up of twenty players. Seniors Christina “XT” Wickman, Julia Sherwood, and Christina “Shoes” Schueler are team captains. In the national championship game last year, this incredible depth of talented players played a key role in their victory. The team also benefits from the coaching and experience of Lou Burruss. The coach is a former Seattle Sockeye, an elite lacrosse club based in Washington which has seen great success with three US club championships, countless placements in the top three, and one World Ultimate Club title.
“Lou is an ultimate guru,” says Fugue team member Bailey Zahniser. “He has completely revolutionized how I think about the game. It has been such a great experience to learn under him. It’s amazing; literally he will say one word to me and it’ll either totally click or I’ll be really confused for a second.” To this Schueler adds: “Burruss is instrumental in teaching us cunning offensive and defensive strategies, how to function as a team, and how to enjoy Ultimate to its fullest.”
With a rotation of captains each year and a veteran coach, Fugue keeps a solid, balanced structure. A few of the players call the team dynamic a “clown tent,” explaining that the chaos feeds into their energy.
“We trust everyone on our team to be doing what they should to contribute,” Wickman says. “Then we play together and figure out the rhythm that best works for us.” On and off the field, Burruss and the captains keep the team structured, making sure every player is ready to hit the field.
“We could sub out seven girls and get an entirely fresh line on every point,” Zahniser says about last year’s winning technique. “We had amazing athletes and girls who really knew the game.”
Sherwood and Zahniser made the 2011 Skyd All-American Team for women, a great honor for any player, let alone two from one team. Sherwood also placed in the top five candidates for the 2010 Callahan Award, equivalent to the Heisman Trophy in football.
But the team is not solely about individuals and their single accolades. Each player places a strong importance on the team, even going so far as to say that their national championship was made possible due to “puppy love.” The team chemistry was what set them apart from other teams in the 2010 national championship, says team member Molly Munson.
“Definitely the bond and friendship between every player on the team,” she adds, explaining why she felt Fugue won a national title. “As an incoming member of Fugue, I can account for the fact that every girl on the team truly cares and supports one another, even the rookies.”
Despite a strong 2011 season including first place at the President’s Day Invitational and second place at the Stanford Invitational, Fugue didn’t win this year’s nationals, hosted over Memorial Day weekend. Having advanced into the semifinals, Fugue lost to Michigan 9-15. No matter what, however, Schueler says, winning isn’t what matters: “As important as a win can be, we make it a point on the team that a win is earned, not deserved. This helps us keep up of competitive, focused, we-deserve-nothing attitude.”
 
 
 

Gallery • 4 Photos

Women’s Ultimate Goes for Second Nationals