Opening night of Academic Bowl serves up heated rivalries
The weather cooled off last night, but the competition was heating up as teams of students representing their respective colleges went head-to-head at the ASU Academic Bowl. The trivia competition, in its fifth year, is a battle of brains between undergraduate students for a chance to win scholarship money and the coveted Academic Bowl trophy.
For information on the rules and format of the game, click here. To view the photo gallery of last night's matches, click here.
The first match of the night pinned the College of Technology and Innovation team against the Fulton Schools of Engineering Gold team. The engineering students kicked things off by answering the first toss-up question correctly, and continued to hold the lead throughout the match. They correctly answered questions about Irish literature and philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau, which sealed the victory for them with a final score of 150 to 20.
In the next round, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Maroon team battled it out against the College of Public Programs team. CLAS Maroon successfully grabbed the first toss-up question and never let go of their strong lead. College of Public Programs eventually put 30 points on the board, but they were no match for CLAS Maroon, who finished with a final score of 410 and moved on to the third match, where they faced the Fulton Schools of Engineering Gold team.
Engineering Gold swept in at the start of the third match by correctly answering the first toss-up question and all their bonus questions. It gave them a strong 40-point lead against CLAS Maroon. But the victory was short-lived, as CLAS Maroon fought back with a vengeance and took the lead halfway through the match. The final score for match three was 410 CLAS Maroon, 100 Engineering Gold.
The fourth match of the night pinned the College of Public Programs team against the College of Technology and Innovation team. It looked as though it could be anybody’s game, as questions bounced back and forth and points quickly stacked up for both teams. But in the end of the elimination round, the College of Technology and Innovation team defeated the College of Public Programs team and advanced to the fifth match with a final score of 235 to 60.
The next match moved quickly. The Fulton Schools of Engineering Gold team was back and ready to rumble. They wasted no time sweeping in and claiming victory over the College of Technology and Innovation team. The final score was 290 to 60, sending the College of Technology and Innovation students home.
The sixth match was a tour de force of lightning-fast trivia as the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Maroon team faced off against Engineering Gold. CLAS Maroon held on tightly to a strong lead, but their confidence took a few blows as Engineering Gold occasionally snagged and successfully answered a few toss-up and bonus questions. In the end, Engineering Gold was no match for CLAS Maroon. With a final score of 360 to 105, CLAS Maroon advanced to the finals on Thursday night.
In the seventh match-up of the evening, the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College Gold team quickly gained ground on the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication Gold team. But the lead wouldn't last long as Cronkite racked up points on questions pertaining to politics, literature and culture. Do you know who baseball legend "Splendid Splinter" is? Neither did the Teachers College team.
In the end, Cronkite Gold emerged victorious over Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, 170 to 60.
With teammates hailing from Johannesburg, South Africa; Lima, Peru; and Vietnam, the School of Sustainability and the New College of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences faced off in the next match-up of the night. Sustainability took an early lead scoring 90 points before New College came alive on the board. The team quickly gained some points, but it was not enough; Sustainability won 125-50.
Questions about the musical works of Franz Schubert launched the School of Sustainability and the Cronkite School Gold team into the nail-biting ninth match-up of the night. Sustainability took an early lead, but Cronkite caught up and surpassed them by correctly answering questions about television program "Hannah Montana" and the work of Langston Hughes.
Trailing by 30 points, Sustainability fought hard for toss-up questions – but ultimately lost to Cronkite Gold with a final score of 130 to 120.
Correctly answering questions about chemistry and Mediterranean geography, the New College team caught up to Teachers College Gold and gained a sizable lead in the 10th match-up of the night. New College maintained the lead with questions of Spanish conquistadors and Japanese poetry. And yes, even the ASU Academic Bowl can't escape Justin Bieber. In the end, New College beat Teachers College 180-130.
And it only got better for New College as they sped past the School of Sustainability in the next match-up. With a 70-point lead, New College gained more ground correcting answering a philosophy question much to the delight of their fans in the audience. With a final score of 180 to 55, New College of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences defeated the School of Sustainability.
In the last match-up of Monday night's opening rounds, Cronkite Gold faced off against New College. Cronkite Gold took an early lead over New College and maintained the lead by correctly answering questions about Charles Schulz's “Peanuts” characters and episodes of Matt Groening's "The Simpsons."
New College felt the pressure of the buzzer breathing down their backs as they correctly answered a series of questions pertaining to Ireland. Alas, the buzzer rang before New College could gain momentum, and Cronkite Gold advanced to the next round, beating New College 210 to 95.
Colleen Jennings-Roggensack, of the Office of Public Affairs, served as moderator for all the matches.
Tonight's opening rounds will continue from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., in the Pima Room of the Memorial Union on the Tempe campus. Come out and cheer on your fellow classmates!
Written by Mindy Lee and Britt Lewis