Difference between revisions of "University of Illinois Lab"

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{{Highschoolteam|Name = University of Illinois Laboratory High School
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{{Highschoolteam|Name = University Laboratory High School
 
|image = Uniwebmask.png
 
|image = Uniwebmask.png
 
|citystate = Urbana, IL
 
|citystate = Urbana, IL
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|currentcoach = TBD
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|currentcoach = Kaila Simpson
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|currentpres = Jonathan Lau, Lawrence Zhao
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|state = [[IHSA]]: 2015 (A), 2019 (AA), 2022 (A), 2023 (A) <br> [[NAQT Illinois State Championship|NAQT]]: 2018, 2020 <br> [[Masonic tournament|Masonic]]: 2018 (2A), 2019 (2A), 2020 (2A), 2022 (3A)  
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|state = 2015 [[IHSA]] (A), 2019 IHSA (AA) <br> 2018, 2020 [[NAQT Illinois State Championship|NAQT]](Small School and Overall)<br> 2018, 2019, 2020 [[Masonic tournament|Masonic]] (AA)
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|nats appearances = MSNCT: [[2018 MSNCT|2018]] <br> HSNCT: 2014-2015, 2018-2019, 2021-2024 <br> SSNCT: 2018 <br>NSC: 2016-2017, 2019, 2021-2024
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|nats appearances = MSNCT: [[2018]] <br>HSNCT: [[2014 HSNCT|2014]], [[2015 HSNCT|2015]], [[2018 HSNCT|2018]], [[2019 HSNCT|2019]], [[2021 HSNCT||2021]]<br>SSNCT: [[2018 SSNCT|2018]] <br>NSC: [[2016 NSC|2016]], [[2017 NSC|2017]], [[2019 NSC|2019]], [[2021 NSC|2021]]
 
 
|status = Active
 
|status = Active
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|size = 250 students in grades 9–12
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|size = 320 students
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{confuse|[[University (Normal)|Normal University High School]] or [[University of Chicago Lab|University of Chicago Laboratory School]]}}
 
{{confuse|[[University (Normal)|Normal University High School]] or [[University of Chicago Lab|University of Chicago Laboratory School]]}}
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'''University of Illinois Laboratory High School''', commonly known as '''"Uni"''' or '''"Uni Lab"''', is a public middle and high school on the [[University of Illinois]] campus in Urbana. Uni was the runner up at both the 2019 and 2021 HSNCTs and placed third at the 2019 PACE NSC. The team was coached by Chris Butler from 2012 to his retirement in 2021. The team is also closely affiliated with the quizbowl team at the [[University of Illinois]] due to geographic proximity on the UIUC campus.
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'''University of Illinois Laboratory High School''', commonly known as '''"Uni"''' or '''"Uni Lab"''', is a public, selective-admissions high school on the [[University of Illinois]] campus in Urbana. Uni was the runner up at both the 2019 and 2021 [[HSNCT]]s and placed third at the 2019 [[PACE NSC]]. The team was coached by Chris Butler from 2012 to his retirement in 2021 and is now coached by Kaila Simpson. Since 2017, Uni has been one of the strongest teams in Illinois and possibly the strongest team south of the Chicago metro area.
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==2012–2017==
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The Uni High Scholastic Bowl team was founded in 2012 as the school trivia club and initially did not compete in tournaments. The team made its official quizbowl debut the following year, where they scored -5 points against IMSA in their very first game. Despite placing 30th out of 40 teams at the 2013 [[NAQT Illinois State Championship|NAQT State Championship]], they qualified for the 2014 and 2015 HSNCTs via other means and placed 201st and 145th respectively. In 2015, Uni won the Class A [[IHSA State Championship]] after a narrow victory against Peoria Christian. The following season, the IHSA moved Uni to the large school division for scholastic bowl (Class AA) despite Uni having only 250 students in its high school enrollment, due to [[IHSA]]'s "success factor" policies for selective-admissions schools without set attendance zones. Under captain Andrew Stelzer, they placed second at the 2017 class AA IHSA tournament after defeating Rockford Auburn and Oak Park-River Forest in the preliminaries, then losing to [[IMSA]] in the final. At the NAQT State Championships, Uni placed 11th in 2016 and 9th in 2017.
  
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==The Early Years (2012–2017)==
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==2017-2020==
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The Uni High Scholastic Bowl team was founded in 2012 and was initially a more casual school club that did not take part in actual tournaments. According to current coach Chris Butler, the team made its official quizbowl debut the following year by scoring −5 points against IMSA in the first round. Despite placing 30th out of 40 teams at the 2013 NAQT State Championship, they qualified for the 2014 and 2015 HSNCTs due to high finishes at downstate Illinois tournaments with weak fields and placed 201st and 145th respectively. In 2015, Uni won the Class A IHSA State Championship after a narrow victory against Peoria Christian, but was frequently outcompeted by larger teams across the state.
 
  
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Uni was moved up to class AA in 2015 despite having only 250 students in its high school enrollment due to IHSA's controversial success factor policies. The presence of [[Tim Cho]], [[Ethan Ashbrook]], and [[Dylan Bowman]] meant that Uni became to a regional power. In its first appearance in the IHSA State AA Finals in 2016, Uni went 1–2 in a strong pool and missed playoffs. The team placed second at the 2017 class AA IHSA tournament, losing to [[IMSA]] 500–320 in the championship round after an upset victory against Rockford Auburn. At the NAQT State Championships, Uni placed 11th in 2016 and 9th in 2017. Uni placed second at the Masonic Tournament, losing to [[Chicago Latin]] in the finals. Nevertheless, Uni was not considered a state contender and did not show up in national rankings or discussion.
+
Uni largely went unnoticed until the team's strength began to grow in 2018, when they became recognized as a state title contender in Illinois and a top-50 team nationwide. While defending champion, [[Stevenson]], was absent due to bad weather, the A team comprised of [[Tim Cho]], [[Ethan Ashbrook]], [[Dylan Bowman]], and [[Jonathan Lau]] won the 2018 [[NAQT Illinois State Championship]] by narrowly defeating [[Rockford Auburn]], becoming the first school from Downstate Illinois to win the event and the smallest ever school to win a large school or open division tournament in Illinois. Uni also became the first team to win the championship with all four starters posting over 20 PP20TUH. The following month, Uni clinched a first-place win over Latin in the Class AA Masonic tournament after losing to them in the finals of the previous two Class AA Masonic championships. Uni placed 5th at the 2018 [[SSNCT]] and 51st at the [[2018 HSNCT]]. That same year, their middle school team also placed T31st at the 2018 MSNCT.
  
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That summer, Tim Cho appeared on the [[Jeopardy!]] Teen Tournament in Culver City, Calfiornia. Tim was one of the most popular contestants in the tournament after he became viral on the front page of Reddit for doing a double-whip on national television. After winning the quarterfinal game, he was eliminated in the semifinals by eventual champion Claire Sattler by just one dollar. Tim's elimination was a subject of much controversy as Sattler had incorrectly answered a question about the meaning of the acronym "RPM" as "rotations per minute" rather than the correct meaning, "revolutions per minute"; however, the judges accepted her answer as correct which gave her just enough money to edge out Tim.
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In 2018, Uni decided to attend tournaments in the Chicago Metro Area to play against tougher competition, winning the 2018 [[New Trier Varsity]] Tournament where they defeated [[Detroit Catholic Central]] for the first time. At the 2019 NAQT Illinois State Championship, Uni placed third after losses to Auburn and Stevenson, then won the 2019 Masonic tournament for the second time. At the 2019 IHSA State Championship, Uni won their first ever Class AA title after winning the championship match on a tiebreaker question against Rockford Auburn. Later, at the [[2019 HSNCT]], Uni went 8–2 in the preliminary rounds, then went on an undefeated streak in the playoffs before falling to Beavercreek in both the winners bracket final and the championship match. At the [[2019 NSC]], the team placed third overall after losing to eventual champion [[TJHSST|Thomas Jefferson]] and runner-up [[Katy Taylor]], then defeating [[Montgomery Blair]] in the third-place game.
  
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==Growth (2018-2019)==
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Despite the loss of top history player Tim Cho to graduation, many people in the quizbowl community named Uni as the favorites to win the 2020 national season due to the impressive depth and [[generalism]] of Ethan Ashbrook and Dylan Bowman. During the 2019-20 season, Uni played without a full team at most tournaments, but still managed to secure several victories against top teams at tournaments such as Earlybird and [[WUFAT]]. At the 2019 [[New Trier Varsity|Reinstein Varsity]], Uni placed fourth after losses to [[Chattahoochee]], [[Miami Valley]], and Stevenson. In the 2020 NAQT Illinois State Championship, Uni won a second title after defeating Stevenson twice in a disadvantaged final. In March, Uni placed first at the Masonic State Championship for the third consecutive time, then won their 5th consecutive IHSA regional title. With the cancellation of the remainder of the IHSA State Series, HSNCT and PACE shortly afterward due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the team's 2020 season came to an abrupt end.
  
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Uni largely went unnoticed until the team's strength began to grow in 2018. Uni A began a long string of first-place wins against local teams with the IHSSBCA Kickoff at Mattoon and quickly became recognized as a state contender in Illinois. Even as they entered the national scene, Uni lacked many opportunities to play state powerhouses like Auburn, IMSA, and Stevenson due to its geographic isolation from the other top teams.
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==2020-2024==
  
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===Success at NAQT State===
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In the 2020-21 preseason poll, Uni was ranked 26th overall, but omitted from many ballots. However, the A team ranked in the top 10-20 teams nationwide throughout the 2020-21 season due to significant improvement by Lawrence Zhao, Arjun Kala, and Janaki Kapadia who had moved up from the previous year's B team. At the [[2021 HSNCT]], the team went undefeated in playoffs before falling to [[Barrington]] in two games of an advantaged final. At the 2021 PACE NSC, the team placed 16th after taking losses to [[Greenhill]], Hunter, and [[Belmont]].  
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While defending champion, [[Stevenson]], was not present because of poor weather and icy conditions, a team comprised of Tim Cho, Ethan Ashbrook, Dylan Bowman, and Jonathan Lau won the 2018 [[NAQT Illinois State Championship]] by narrowly defeating Auburn in an advantaged final 350–320, finishing out the tournament with a 12–1 record. Uni became the very first school from Downstate Illinois to win the event. With only about 320 students, it also became the smallest ever school to win a large school or open division tournament in Illinois. Uni also became the first team to win the championship with all four starters posting over 20 PP20TUH for the tournament.
 
  
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The following month, Uni clinched a first-place win over Latin in the Masonic tournament for the very first time in school history, after losing to them in the finals of the previous two Masonic championships. Uni then cleared the field at IHSA State sectionals after traveling 100 miles north to Streator. At the IHSA State AA Championship, Uni was placed in the same pool as perennial champions Stevenson and IMSA, losing to both teams and missing the playoffs.  
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Following the departure of senior Jonathan Lau and longtime coach Chris Butler, the team continued to be one of the strongest in the state. At the 2022 NAQT Illinois State Championship, the A team tied for 5th place, and won both the IHSA Class A and Masonic Class 3A state championships. The team went on to place T39th at the 2022 HSNCT and 20th at the 2022 PACE NSC. In the 2023 season, the team continued to perform at a high level despite the loss of science specialist Lawrence Zhao to graduation, winning their fourth IHSA State title in eight years. The team later placed 21st at HSNCT and 11th at PACE. The loss of top scorer Arjun Kala in the following 2024 season was quickly made up for by continued improvement from seniors Shreyas Singh and Shawn Syed. At the 2024 PACE NSC, the team would place 8th despite the absence of Shreyas, making the top bracket for the first time since the historic 2019 season.  
  
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At their first SSNCT, Uni placed 5th in the open division. 2018 also marked Uni's very first appearance in the HSNCT Playoffs after they surprised many by going 8–2 in the preliminary rounds, only suffering losses to [[Downingtown STEM]] and previous champions [[Hunter]]. Uni ultimately lost their first two games in playoffs to [[Lexington]] and [[Carnegie Vanguard]], finishing T-51. The team did not attend the 2018 NSC. However, despite these setbacks, 2018 marked the first appearance on the class AA All-State First Team (Tim Cho), as well as the first appearance on a NASAT team (Ethan Ashbrook on Illinois B). Tim Cho, Ethan Ashbrook, and Jonathan Lau were also selected for the local All-Sectional, again asserting Uni's position as the dominant Illinois team south of Chicago.
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==National Results==
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Uni kicked off the 2019 season at the Illinois Earlybird tournament, where they finished second after losing to IMSA. The newly established [[Groger Ranks]] placed Uni in the top 10 teams early in the season, though this was because many teams had not yet played a tournament for which a Groger score could be calculated.
 
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The A team also decided to attend tournaments in the Chicago Metro Area to play against tougher competition, beginning with the 2018 [[Scobol Solo]], where two of its members placed fourth and sixth in the finals. At the IHSSBCA Kickoff at Stevenson, University Lab A and B competed in the Über-Competitive division for the first time, avenging their Earlybird loss against IMSA before falling to the tournament's hosts in two games. On December 15th, the Uni quizbowl team finally achieved a first place win at the 2018 [[New Trier Varsity]] Tournament, beating national powerhouse DCC for the first time in school history.
 
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At the 2019 NAQT Illinois State Championship, Uni placed first in the small school division and third overall after close losses against Stevenson and Auburn, who went on to play in the finals. Uni B placed second in the small school division and ninth overall. At the Masonic State Championships, Uni repeated their championship from the previous year by defeating Chicago Christian High School from Palos Heights, IL after losing by ten points in the prelims.
 
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In the IHSA State Series, the team advanced to their sixth consecutive appearance at the IHSA state tournament and once again, the team started the day with a match against IMSA; unlike 2018, Uni narrowly clinched a victory by 120 points. After defeating a [[Carl Sandburg High School]] team led by [[Aristotle Vainikos]], Uni faced perennial powerhouse Rockford Auburn in the finals. After both teams failed to convert tossup 20 when Dylan gave an answer of "myelin" for "myosin", a quick power by Dylan clinched Uni's first 2A state title, making them the first school in IHSA history to win titles in both enrollment classes of Scholastic Bowl.
 
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Uni was not expected to do as well at the [[2019 HSNCT]] due to their comparatively greater strength in the PACE distribution; nevertheless, they were still considered a dark horse contender. Uni went 8–2 in the preliminary rounds, with losses to [[Vestavia Hills]] and [[Ladue]]. Uni's defeat of [[Friends Select]] in the first round of playoffs guaranteed them a better finish than in 2018. After earning a spot in the top 12, Uni defeated the tournament favorites [[TJHSST]] A with a stat line of 9/7/1, guaranteeing top 7.
 
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In the semifinal, Uni defeated in-state rivals Stevenson A while [[Chattahoochee]] defeated Beavercreek, forcing a play-in game for the final between Uni and Chattahoochee. Uni's victory against Chattahoochee guaranteed them the best finish of any Illinois team in HSNCT history, besting the 2013 [[Loyola Academy]] team's 3rd place finish. Uni ultimately lost to Beavercreek 415–260, earning second place.
 
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Expectations were high at [[2019 NSC]], as the team was better on mACF questions. Uni went undefeated in the 12 Saturday placement games, securing a spot in the top superplayoffs bracket. On Sunday, Uni defeated Rockford Auburn by just ten points, before avenging their HSNCT loss to Beavercreek by soundly defeating them 420–280. In the next three consecutive rounds, Uni was defeated by [[Montgomery Blair]], TJHSST, and [[James E. Taylor]] before defeating High Tech. This left them with an identical record to Montgomery Blair, whom they defeated in the tiebreaker to finish third. Ethan Ashbrook made the PACE All-Star game and played with Ethan Strombeck, [[Hari Parameswaran]], and [[Matthew Siff]]. They were defeated by [[Hanson Hao]], [[Anson Berns]], [[William Golden]], and [[Fred Zhang]].
 
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==National Favorites (2020)==
 
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Despite the loss of top history player Tim Cho, most people in the quizbowl community named Uni as the favorites to win the 2020 national season due to the impressive depth and generalism of Ethan Ashbrook and Dylan Bowman. On the 2019 Groger Ranks Preseason Poll, Uni was ranked first on all but two of the submitted ballots.
 
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During the 2019-20 season, Uni played without a full team for the majority of their tournaments, but still managed to secure several victories against top teams in the region at tournaments such as Earlybird and WUFAT. Uni sent six students to compete in the 2019 Scobol Solo, where Dylan Bowman placed second and Jonathan Lau placed fifth. On December 14th, a shorthanded Uni attended their second New Trier Varsity tournament. However, they placed fourth after losses to Chattahoochee, Miami Valley, and eventual champion Stevenson.
 
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In the 2020 NAQT Illinois State Championship, Uni was the highest-seeded team and placed first after defeating Stevenson twice in a disadvantaged final. Uni A was the only team at the event with three players at over 50 points per game, and Jonathan Lau made the All-Tournament team with 82 points per game in the morning rounds.
 
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On March 9th, Uni placed first at the Masonic State Championship for the third consecutive time by defeating [[Chicago Christian]] in the final, despite the absence of Jonathan Lau. The following Monday, they dominated their IHSA regional and took home their fifth consecutive title. Just three days later, the government of Illinois issued a lockdown order due to the inevitable spread of COVID-19 pandemic into the state, which put a permanent end to what would have been one of Uni's best seasons in history.
 
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== Continued National Success (2020–present)==
 
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Following the departure of Dylan Bowman and Ethan Ashbrook, voted the 12th and 13th best players in the country, most people in the community expected Uni to fade away from the national quizbowl scene due to its very small enrollment size. On the preseason poll, Uni was ranked 26th overall, but omitted from many ballots.
 
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However, Uni solidified its place on a highly competitive Illinois circuit at the 2020 Earlybird, where they placed third after a close loss to Barrington and a convincing win over Stevenson, and also boasted the highest power count, highest team PPG, and the third-highest PPB. At the subsequent LIT Mirror, Uni placed first in the field with an undefeated record. The A team consistently ranked in the top 10-15 teams due to their performances throughout the season and significant improvement by players who had moved up from the previous year's B team.
 
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Like many teams in Illinois, Uni did not attend the in-person 2021 IHSA state series because of safety concerns about the still-ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This ended the team's five-year streak of regional and sectional championships titles. At the 2021 HSNCT, the team went undefeated in playoffs, taking down other top contenders such as Hunter and Wayzata before finally falling to Barrington in the finals. This was the second time the team had achieved a runner-up finish at the tournament, the first being in 2019.
 
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===National Results===
 
 
*2014 HSNCT: 211th/272
 
*2014 HSNCT: 211th/272
 
*2015 HSNCT: 145th/272
 
*2015 HSNCT: 145th/272
 
*2016 NSC: 62nd/96
 
*2016 NSC: 62nd/96
 
*2017 NSC: 51st/96
 
*2017 NSC: 51st/96
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*2018 [[SSNCT]] 5th/64 (Open Division)
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*2018 SSNCT 5th/64 (Open Division)
 
*2018 HSNCT: 51st/352
 
*2018 HSNCT: 51st/352
 
*2019 HSNCT: 2nd/336
 
*2019 HSNCT: 2nd/336
 
*2019 NSC: 3rd/96
 
*2019 NSC: 3rd/96
 
*2021 HSNCT: 2nd/224
 
*2021 HSNCT: 2nd/224
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*2021 NSC: 16th/80
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*2022 HSNCT: 39th/272
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*2022 NSC: 20th/72
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*2023 HSNCT: 21st/304
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*2023 NSC: 11th/72
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*2024 HSNCT: 49th/320
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*2024 NSC: 8th/72
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==All-State Honorees==
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*2017 Class A Second Team: Andrew Stelzer
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*2018 Class AA First Team: Tim Cho
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*2019 Class AA First Team: Ethan Ashbrook, Dylan Bowman, Tim Cho
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*2020 Class AA First Team: Ethan Ashbrook, Dylan Bowman, Jonathan Lau
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*2022 Class A First Team: Arjun Kala, Lawrence Zhao
 +
*2022 Class A Second Team: Janaki Kapadia
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*2023 Class A First Team: Arjun Kala, Shreyas Singh
 +
 +
==Players for Team Illinois==
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*2018 Illinois B (T-13): Ethan Ashbrook
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*2019 Illinois A (1st): Ethan Ashbrook
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*2019 Illinois B (5th): Dylan Bowman, Tim Cho, Jonathan Lau
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*2020 Illinois A (cancelled): Ethan Ashbrook, Dylan Bowman, Jonathan Lau
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*2021 Illinois B (11th): Lawrence Zhao
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*2023 Illinois B (T-3): Shreyas Singh
  
 
==External Links==
 
==External Links==
 
*[http://www.naqt.com/stats/school-results.jsp?org_id=66172 NAQT Results]  
 
*[http://www.naqt.com/stats/school-results.jsp?org_id=66172 NAQT Results]  
 
*[http://www.uni.illinois.edu School website]
 
*[http://www.uni.illinois.edu School website]
 +
 +
{{Succession_box|Tournament = NAQT Illinois State
 +
|year = 2020
 +
|previous = [[Rockford Auburn]]
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|next = Cancelled due to COVID-19
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| }}
 +
 +
{{Succession_box|Tournament = IHSA Class 1A State
 +
|year = 2022, 23
 +
|previous = [[Chicago Christian]]
 +
|next = [[Metro-East Lutheran]]
 +
| }}
 +
 +
{{Succession_box|Tournament = IHSA Class 2A State
 +
|year = 2019
 +
|previous = [[Stevenson]]
 +
|next = Cancelled due to COVID-19
 +
| }}
 +
 +
{{Succession_box|Tournament = Illinois Masonic State Tournament Class 2A
 +
|year = 2018, 2019, 2020
 +
|previous = [[Latin School]]
 +
|next = [[Herscher]]
 +
| }}
 +
 +
{{Succession_box|Tournament = Illinois Masonic State Tournament Class 3A
 +
|year = 2022
 +
|previous = Cancelled due to COVID-19
 +
|next = [[Barrington]]
 +
| }}
  
 
{{NAQT Illinois State Champions}}
 
{{NAQT Illinois State Champions}}

Latest revision as of 13:08, 13 June 2024

University Laboratory High School
Uniwebmask.png
Location:
Urbana, IL
Coaches Kaila Simpson
State Championships IHSA: 2015 (A), 2019 (AA), 2022 (A), 2023 (A)
NAQT: 2018, 2020
Masonic: 2018 (2A), 2019 (2A), 2020 (2A), 2022 (3A)
National Appearances MSNCT: 2018
HSNCT: 2014-2015, 2018-2019, 2021-2024
SSNCT: 2018
NSC: 2016-2017, 2019, 2021-2024
Program Status Active
School Size 320 students
NAQT Page link
Not to be confused with Normal University High School or University of Chicago Laboratory School.

University of Illinois Laboratory High School, commonly known as "Uni" or "Uni Lab", is a public, selective-admissions high school on the University of Illinois campus in Urbana. Uni was the runner up at both the 2019 and 2021 HSNCTs and placed third at the 2019 PACE NSC. The team was coached by Chris Butler from 2012 to his retirement in 2021 and is now coached by Kaila Simpson. Since 2017, Uni has been one of the strongest teams in Illinois and possibly the strongest team south of the Chicago metro area.

2012–2017

The Uni High Scholastic Bowl team was founded in 2012 as the school trivia club and initially did not compete in tournaments. The team made its official quizbowl debut the following year, where they scored -5 points against IMSA in their very first game. Despite placing 30th out of 40 teams at the 2013 NAQT State Championship, they qualified for the 2014 and 2015 HSNCTs via other means and placed 201st and 145th respectively. In 2015, Uni won the Class A IHSA State Championship after a narrow victory against Peoria Christian. The following season, the IHSA moved Uni to the large school division for scholastic bowl (Class AA) despite Uni having only 250 students in its high school enrollment, due to IHSA's "success factor" policies for selective-admissions schools without set attendance zones. Under captain Andrew Stelzer, they placed second at the 2017 class AA IHSA tournament after defeating Rockford Auburn and Oak Park-River Forest in the preliminaries, then losing to IMSA in the final. At the NAQT State Championships, Uni placed 11th in 2016 and 9th in 2017.

2017-2020

Uni largely went unnoticed until the team's strength began to grow in 2018, when they became recognized as a state title contender in Illinois and a top-50 team nationwide. While defending champion, Stevenson, was absent due to bad weather, the A team comprised of Tim Cho, Ethan Ashbrook, Dylan Bowman, and Jonathan Lau won the 2018 NAQT Illinois State Championship by narrowly defeating Rockford Auburn, becoming the first school from Downstate Illinois to win the event and the smallest ever school to win a large school or open division tournament in Illinois. Uni also became the first team to win the championship with all four starters posting over 20 PP20TUH. The following month, Uni clinched a first-place win over Latin in the Class AA Masonic tournament after losing to them in the finals of the previous two Class AA Masonic championships. Uni placed 5th at the 2018 SSNCT and 51st at the 2018 HSNCT. That same year, their middle school team also placed T31st at the 2018 MSNCT.

In 2018, Uni decided to attend tournaments in the Chicago Metro Area to play against tougher competition, winning the 2018 New Trier Varsity Tournament where they defeated Detroit Catholic Central for the first time. At the 2019 NAQT Illinois State Championship, Uni placed third after losses to Auburn and Stevenson, then won the 2019 Masonic tournament for the second time. At the 2019 IHSA State Championship, Uni won their first ever Class AA title after winning the championship match on a tiebreaker question against Rockford Auburn. Later, at the 2019 HSNCT, Uni went 8–2 in the preliminary rounds, then went on an undefeated streak in the playoffs before falling to Beavercreek in both the winners bracket final and the championship match. At the 2019 NSC, the team placed third overall after losing to eventual champion Thomas Jefferson and runner-up Katy Taylor, then defeating Montgomery Blair in the third-place game.

Despite the loss of top history player Tim Cho to graduation, many people in the quizbowl community named Uni as the favorites to win the 2020 national season due to the impressive depth and generalism of Ethan Ashbrook and Dylan Bowman. During the 2019-20 season, Uni played without a full team at most tournaments, but still managed to secure several victories against top teams at tournaments such as Earlybird and WUFAT. At the 2019 Reinstein Varsity, Uni placed fourth after losses to Chattahoochee, Miami Valley, and Stevenson. In the 2020 NAQT Illinois State Championship, Uni won a second title after defeating Stevenson twice in a disadvantaged final. In March, Uni placed first at the Masonic State Championship for the third consecutive time, then won their 5th consecutive IHSA regional title. With the cancellation of the remainder of the IHSA State Series, HSNCT and PACE shortly afterward due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the team's 2020 season came to an abrupt end.

2020-2024

In the 2020-21 preseason poll, Uni was ranked 26th overall, but omitted from many ballots. However, the A team ranked in the top 10-20 teams nationwide throughout the 2020-21 season due to significant improvement by Lawrence Zhao, Arjun Kala, and Janaki Kapadia who had moved up from the previous year's B team. At the 2021 HSNCT, the team went undefeated in playoffs before falling to Barrington in two games of an advantaged final. At the 2021 PACE NSC, the team placed 16th after taking losses to Greenhill, Hunter, and Belmont.

Following the departure of senior Jonathan Lau and longtime coach Chris Butler, the team continued to be one of the strongest in the state. At the 2022 NAQT Illinois State Championship, the A team tied for 5th place, and won both the IHSA Class A and Masonic Class 3A state championships. The team went on to place T39th at the 2022 HSNCT and 20th at the 2022 PACE NSC. In the 2023 season, the team continued to perform at a high level despite the loss of science specialist Lawrence Zhao to graduation, winning their fourth IHSA State title in eight years. The team later placed 21st at HSNCT and 11th at PACE. The loss of top scorer Arjun Kala in the following 2024 season was quickly made up for by continued improvement from seniors Shreyas Singh and Shawn Syed. At the 2024 PACE NSC, the team would place 8th despite the absence of Shreyas, making the top bracket for the first time since the historic 2019 season.

National Results

  • 2014 HSNCT: 211th/272
  • 2015 HSNCT: 145th/272
  • 2016 NSC: 62nd/96
  • 2017 NSC: 51st/96
  • 2018 SSNCT 5th/64 (Open Division)
  • 2018 HSNCT: 51st/352
  • 2019 HSNCT: 2nd/336
  • 2019 NSC: 3rd/96
  • 2021 HSNCT: 2nd/224
  • 2021 NSC: 16th/80
  • 2022 HSNCT: 39th/272
  • 2022 NSC: 20th/72
  • 2023 HSNCT: 21st/304
  • 2023 NSC: 11th/72
  • 2024 HSNCT: 49th/320
  • 2024 NSC: 8th/72

All-State Honorees

  • 2017 Class A Second Team: Andrew Stelzer
  • 2018 Class AA First Team: Tim Cho
  • 2019 Class AA First Team: Ethan Ashbrook, Dylan Bowman, Tim Cho
  • 2020 Class AA First Team: Ethan Ashbrook, Dylan Bowman, Jonathan Lau
  • 2022 Class A First Team: Arjun Kala, Lawrence Zhao
  • 2022 Class A Second Team: Janaki Kapadia
  • 2023 Class A First Team: Arjun Kala, Shreyas Singh

Players for Team Illinois

  • 2018 Illinois B (T-13): Ethan Ashbrook
  • 2019 Illinois A (1st): Ethan Ashbrook
  • 2019 Illinois B (5th): Dylan Bowman, Tim Cho, Jonathan Lau
  • 2020 Illinois A (cancelled): Ethan Ashbrook, Dylan Bowman, Jonathan Lau
  • 2021 Illinois B (11th): Lawrence Zhao
  • 2023 Illinois B (T-3): Shreyas Singh

External Links

NAQT Illinois State Champion
Preceded by
Year
Succeeded by
Rockford Auburn
2020
Cancelled due to COVID-19
IHSA Class 1A State Champion
Preceded by
Year
Succeeded by
Chicago Christian
2022, 23
Metro-East Lutheran
IHSA Class 2A State Champion
Preceded by
Year
Succeeded by
Stevenson
2019
Cancelled due to COVID-19
Illinois Masonic State Tournament Class 2A Champion
Preceded by
Year
Succeeded by
Latin School
2018, 2019, 2020
Herscher
Illinois Masonic State Tournament Class 3A Champion
Preceded by
Year
Succeeded by
Cancelled due to COVID-19
2022
Barrington

NAQT Illinois State Champions

Champions (2005-pres)
Stevenson (2005) · Stevenson (2006) · New Trier (2007) · Auburn (2008) · Auburn (2009) · Auburn (2010) · Stevenson (2011) · Auburn (2012) · IMSA (2013) · IMSA A (2014) · Auburn (2015) · Auburn (2016) · Stevenson A (2017) · UIUC Lab (2018) · Auburn (2019) · UIUC Lab (2020) · Buffalo Grove (2022)
Small School Champions (2013-pres)
Peoria Christian (2013) · Litchfield (2014) · Macomb A (2015) · Macomb A (2016) · Southwestern A (2017) · UIUC Lab (2018) · UIUC Lab (2019) · UIUC Lab (2020) · UIUC Lab (2022)

IHSA State Championship

1987-91
Quincy (1987) · Quincy (1988) · IMSA (1989) · IMSA (1990) · Centralia (1991)
Class AA (1992-present)
Hinsdale Central (1992) · Quincy (1993) · IMSA (1994) · Richwoods (1995) · IMSA (1996) · IMSA (1997) · IMSA (1998) · IMSA (1999) · Stevenson (2000) · IMSA (2001) · Wheaton North (2002) · Wheaton North (2003) · Wheaton North (2004) · Stevenson (2005) · Fremd (2006) · New Trier (2007) · Auburn (2008) · Carbondale (2009) · IMSA (2010) · IMSA (2011) · IMSA (2012) · IMSA (2013) · IMSA (2014) · Auburn (2015) · Hinsdale Central (2016) · IMSA (2017) · Stevenson (2018) · University Lab (2019)
Class A (1992-present)
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