Quiz bowl team takes 5th in national championship
Congratulations to Frederick Rudolph '23, Ophelia Cherry-Pulay '25, Daniel Guo '25, and Rohan Ramachandran '25 who placed fifth in the Small School National Championship Tournament, a two-day quiz bowl championship help April 29-30.
By Justin Fitzpatrick, HS Math Teacher & Quiz Bowl Coach
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On Friday, April 28, ten of University School of Nashville's veteran quiz bowl team members headed north to Chicago to play for the Small School National Championship Tournament. The B-team consisted of six players led by Lorelei Jobe '23, ably supported by Penelope Graham '25, and four fantastic freshmen: Evan Giles '26, Jackson Green '26, Noah Horwitz '26, and Mason Lack '26. Competing for USN's A-team were the stalwart, steady senior Frederick Rudolph '23 and three young but seasoned sophomores: Ophelia Cherry-Pulay '25, Daniel Guo '25, and Rohan Ramachandran '25.
The tournament is over two days, with the playoff rounds on Sunday, and the qualifying rounds on Saturday. Saturday saw USN-B compete admirably, finishing at 5-5 with contributions from each of the six players on a rotating basis. Penelope received a rising star award as one of the highest-scoring players in the tournament who are not yet juniors. She had an outstanding tournament, as did the rest of the B-team players, but the 5-5 mark left them one tantalizing win short of qualifying for the playoffs.
To say that the A-team qualified for the playoffs would be an understatement. The winners of the Tennessee state championship represented the Volunteer State with pride, going 10-0 on the day. Their closest contest was a 420-330 win over Cistercian Prep from Irving, Texas. Like Penelope, Ophelia won a rising star award for her dizzying assault on literature questions. Balanced contributions from everyone contributed to the 10-0 mark and high point totals that left USN seeded fourth going into the double-elimination bracket and well-poised to make a run at bringing home a national title.
On Sunday, USN faced a familiar foe in Mounds Park Academy from St. Paul, Minnesota, who eliminated the Tigers the previous year. The game came down to the last question, which, regrettably for USN, went to the opposition leaving everyone on edge. Like a phoenix, USN rose from its ashes and stormed to three consecutive victories to close out the morning, each with a higher point total than before.
The team went into the lunch break with only six teams left in the tournament — interestingly, most from the South: Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and Texas were all represented. It was the Georgians next on the USN program as they faced off against Paideia School from Atlanta. The lead was like the ball in a great tennis match: swiftly alternating from side to side, enjoyable to watch. As in the Mounds Park game, the match came down to the final question, with whoever answered the question sure to advance to the top-four teams in the nation. I recall sitting in my seat and seeing Ophelia strike the buzzer, but an instant too late, and with Paideia's correct response, USN's run at a national championship was over.
This was my first and last season as quiz bowl coach, and I will have many memories of it. Watching the fury and pace with which all the players, both on the A and B teams, attacked the various questions not just on days of competition but also in the evenings and on days of practice has been a pure joy and a great model to the whole community in their efforts to push themselves to be their best. I have drawn much inspiration from the efforts of our great quiz bowl team. I can and should also say, as I always can for the various teams associated with USN, that the team members carried themselves with dignity and competed in good sportsmanship, earning respect from each opponent in victory and defeat alike.
Congratulations belong to all who played, but especially to Frederick, Ophelia, Daniel, and Rohan for their joint fifth-place finish in the nation. I know they would enjoy hearing your congratulations as well.
