The Dartmouth College Bowl Team finished 14th out of 16th at the National College Bowl Championships held at Auburn University in Montgomery, Ala., over the weekend. Although the team's appearance at nationals was Dartmouth's first in 10 years, the team comprised of Ben Taylor '07, Tyson Kubota '07 and Matt Fujisawa '06 expressed disappointment with their performance.
Stressful travel plans and impending schoolwork in Hanover hampered the team's performance in Montgomery, according to team members. All three of the competitors returned to midterms and projects on Monday.
The College Bowl is a series of round-robin competitions in which teams of students answer questions for points. Moderators pose a question to the competing teams that any team member may buzz in to answer, although individuals are not allowed to confer with team members in answering the question. If a team member answers incorrectly, the team is penalized five points. A correct answer garners 10 points and the opportunity to answer an additional, more valuable bonus question. A round typically consists of 15 matches, with a subsequent play-off between the top teams. The Dartmouth team finished with a 2-13 record.
According to Art Vilassakdanont '06, the group's president, a good player is one who "has a large basis of knowledge and quick reflexes." The Dartmouth team had difficulty responding to questions rapidly, Vilassakdanont said.
The team qualified for the national competition by winning the regional college bowl held at Providence College in February. Winners of the 15 various regional competitions held around the country are eligible for nationals. Many of the schools in attendance were state schools, according to Kubota. Among the Ivies, only Cornell and Dartmouth attended. Perennial favorites at the competition include the University of Florida and the University of Michigan.
Taylor, who is also a staff member of The Dartmouth, said that the atmosphere at the competition, at least on Dartmouth's part, was one of frustration.
"The questions were easy but you have to buzz in to answer them -- so it's really who can buzz in the fastest," Taylor said. "We left Hanover at three in the morning -- it was hard to buzz in."
The Dartmouth team prepares for bowls by running through packets of questions from past competitions two nights a week. Several team members participated in similar events in high school and then joined the College team upon arriving in Hanover.
The trip was financed through the Council on Student Organizations. The team's original travel plans were changed at the last minute due to academic conflicts, team members said, forcing a 2:30 a.m. return to Hanover on Monday.
Though the results of the event were disappointing, the team members were excited to be representing Dartmouth at Nationals.
"This was the worst possible timing for all three of us," Taylor said. "It was a good experience and I'd like to do it again without a midterm 10 hours after we get back to Hanover."
