Scobel Wiggins Photography

Walking onto the fields at Philly Fusion was like walking into a sea of Women's Ultimate.  Never in my four years of college Ultimate have I seen so many women together at one time, ready to compete at a single tournament. The numbers present at Philly Fusion could have seemed overwhelming, but to me it was very exciting to see what a presence is possible within the Women's Ultimate community.

The sheer size of this tournament was notable to me for one reason in particular: the Bucknell Peacefrogs have had a few successive 'team building' years, during which we often struggled to find enough girls to take a team to tournaments.  We became known for playing savage more often than not, including our first year playing at D-III Nationals this past spring.  Let me tell you- there are few things that will bind a team together more than playing seven or eight straight games of savage zone defense in one weekend.  Participating in Philly Fusion and seeing those 40 women's teams served as a powerful reminder that Women's Ultimate as a whole is strong and growing, whether or not my school could field a team.

Now that numbers are no longer an issue for the Frogs, it was inspiring for our veteran players to see how far we've come since our savage days. Being able to win games against some big name schools made our 5th place finish feel like 1st. With the addition of the skills clinics, this tournament provided an ideal combination of competition and learning for all the members of our team, both new and old, also providing some interaction between the club and college divisions.  Our new players had not only the luxury of some recovery time on the sideline (still unbelievable to the seniors!) but also the ability to be impressed by the high caliber of play in the club divisions, watching teams that many of our players aspire to play for post-graduation. Tournaments like Philly Fusion provide the best of both worlds for seasoned vets and for new players who are just learning how great the sport is, benefiting players of all levels.  I would like to thank Philly Fusion's organizers for putting together a successful tournament of such magnitude, especially on behalf of developing women's college programs like mine.

Meredith 'Sauce' Schuessler is the captain of Bucknell University's women's team.