Opening rounds jump-start Academic Bowl
Who was Germany’s first female chancellor? What is Kepler’s first law of planetary motion? “Richard Cory” was written by which poet? In what year did John F. Kennedy become President?
These questions and many more were wrestled over by undergraduate students who began competing Tuesday night for their respective colleges across all four campuses in the fourth annual ASU Academic Bowl.
The rapid question-and-answer game, played between two opposing teams comprised of four players each, kicked off in the Memorial Union on the Tempe campus with the final prize of up to $4,500 in scholarship money and the proof that your college is smarter than the rest.
In the opening match of the first round, Mark Jacobs, dean of Barrett, the Honors College, moderated as W. P. Carey faced the College of Teacher Education and Leadership (CTEL) Gold. W. P. Carey won the first toss-up question about Impressionist paintings to take a 30-point lead that quickly gained momentum. Although CTEL gained some ground by correctly describing Scrabble tiles and knowing who composed “Ode to Joy,” W. P. Carey continued their lead. Despite their enthusiastic cheering section, CTEL Gold lost to W. P. Carey 170-80.
The second matchup of the night pitted the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts Maroon team against the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication Gold team. Herberger took the lead, but Cronkite came back by correctly answering a particular circle’s radius, area and circumference. Both teams showed their knowledge of reality television shows and Cuban politics, but by game’s end the Cronkite Gold team had emerged victorious with a final score of 170-115.
W. P. Carey took on the Cronkite Gold team in the third matchup and quickly got ahead in the game by winning toss-up questions and correctly answering bonus questions on American Presidents, Poet laureates and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlett Letter.” Final score was 165-25, W. P. Carey.
The song “Stairway to Heaven” was the first correctly answered question – won by the Herberger Maroon team – in the fourth matchup of the evening. Herberger Maroon and CTEL Gold were neck-and-neck as they battled over toss-up questions and shouted out the answers to bonus questions. Herberger pulled ahead of CTEL by correctly identifying the origin of “Freedom Fries.” CTEL’s wealth of knowledge about American journalists did not help them in the end; CTEL Gold lost to Herberger Maroon, 140-75.
And so they met again, Herberger Maroon and Cronkite Gold. Herberger Maroon took the early lead by correctly answering questions about Broadway musicals among other things, but Cronkite Gold came back with a series of correct answers about South African cities. Herberger then took a 100-point lead and proved their knowledge of chemical makeup. Final score: Herberger Maroon, 170 to Cronkite Gold, 95.
And then there were two. Once again, Herberger took an early lead. Questions about the Berlin Wall’s history helped W. P. Carey gain some ground. Competition remained close as the game clock ticked – and with two minutes left, W. P. Carey turned up the heat with a 60-point lead and went on to win the match 195-100.
In the second round of the competition, Colleen Jennings-Roggensack, the executive director of ASU Public Events, served as moderator.
The School of Sustainability took on the College of Nursing and Health Innovation in what quickly became a close competition in the second round’s first matchup. Questions about American politics, Canadian capitals and O’Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi” helped secure points as well as stoop players. When the buzzer rang, Nursing had beaten Sustainability by a mere 20 points. The final score was 130-110.
In the second matchup of round two, the College of Public Programs took on the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering Gold team. Physics, philosophers and Edith Wharton – oh my! Engineering Gold stayed calm as they left Public Programs behind with a 75-point lead and went on to defeat the College of Public Programs with a final score of 145-35.
Who is the object of Don Quixote’s affection? Who is the author of “Dover Beach”? The Engineering Gold team labored toward a 90-point lead over the College of Nursing and Health Innovation in the third matchup. Engineering maintained a strong lead to win the match 195-105.
Sustainability faced the College of Public Programs in the in the fourth matchup of round two. The teams were tied with 20 points when Sustainability took a small lead by correctly answering questions about novelist Jane Austen. College of Public Programs followed this up with earning a 20-point lead, only to be taken away by Sustainability on the next toss-up question. With two minutes left, the School of Sustainability pulled ahead to win the match 130-90.
Having advanced into the fifth matchup, Sustainability took on the College of Nursing as both battled for toss-up questions and took turns leading the other. Questions on ancient Egypt helped Nursing leap ahead of Sustainability in less than two minutes to go, and the sound of the buzzer confirmed Nursing the victor with a 165-110 win over Sustainability.
In the final matchup of the evening, Engineering Gold rapidly worked their way to the finish line with the College of Nursing breathing down their backs. For 10 points each, the Engineering team correctly answered two opera questions to secure a 60-point lead, which soon became a 100-point lead. Engineering Gold defeated Nursing 240-120 and will proceed to the finals along with the W. P. Carey team.