USN takes 1st, 4th at Middle School Quiz Bowl Tournament

By Richard Rosenthal, MS Quiz Bowl Team Coach

Matthew Golann ’29, Asher Huffman ’29, Lucas Lupu ’29, and Oren Schwartz ’29 won Gallatin High School’s Spring Forward XVI Quiz Bowl Tournament against 42 teams from all over Tennessee.

In the finals, they defeated a team from Avery Trace Middle School (345 to 235) that finished eighth in the country at last year’s nationals. They defeated Avery Trace 345 to 235. USN students won their playoff games by an average of 502 to 109. They won their five preliminary games by an average of 550 to 82.

USN has won all five tournaments it entered this year. Eight different players have played on their championship teams, while no one player has played on all five teams. The championship teams’ record is 44 and 1, with its only loss coming against another USN team. The very deep USN program has multiple strong teams.

At the Gallatin tournament, USN had four outstanding teams. Clio Cherry-Pulay ’29, Elliot George ’29, Harper Hughey ’29, and Vihaan Sinha ’29 went 5-0 in the preliminary rounds. They won by an average of 403 to 139. They did not lose until the semifinals when they faced Matthew, Asher, Lucas, and Oren. They finished with the fourth-place trophy.

Oliver Burnette ’29, Rose Doyle ’30, Reya Roy ’30, and Claire Yu ’30 went 4-1 in the preliminary rounds. Their only loss came to the Avery Trace team. The Quiz Bowl team's future looks very good. Sixth graders Max Haber ’31, James Keiper ’31, Neel Sinha ’31, Collins Spangler ’31, and Zoey Wei ’31 went 2 and 3 in the preliminary rounds. They won their first playoff game. It was the first tournament for Max, Collins, and Zoey.

Individually, Lucas, Vihaan, and Oren placed third, eighth, and 19th among the nearly 200 competitors.

Having had an extraordinarily successful season in Tennessee, the Quiz Bowl team will send two teams to Chicago in May to compete against the best teams in the country and as far away as South Korea. USN
parents Maria Rivera and Sonal Gupta shepherded teams to their victories. The teams appreciated having support from many parents and siblings during the playoffs.