Liberal Arts and Science Academy of Austin

LASA
Location: Austin, TX
Coaches	Jason Flowers
State Championships	2008, 2010, 2011
National Championships	N/A
Program Status	Unknown
School Size	Unknown
NAQT Page	link

The Liberal Arts and Science Academy of Austin is a magnet high school in Austin, Texas. The Quiz Bowl team was refounded on April 8, 2007 after a long hiatus. Several students from Kealing Middle School matriculate at LASA every fall.

History

Inaugural Season

Though a team had existed at LASA in the past, participating in the 1994 TOC, the modern LASA Quiz Bowl team and club was founded when future A-Teamers Albert Bayer and Tyler Smith were discussing the game in Coach Jason Flowers' AP US History class. Flowers overheard and remarked that he once participated in Quiz Bowl, and plans were made for the formation of a team. Two weeks later, LASA participated in its first tournament at the TQBA Texas State Championships, losing to St. John's for the title. This qualified LASA for the 2006-07 NAQT HSNCT in Chicago, where the team placed a respectable 106th after having only played one tournament.

2007-08

LASA kicked off its 2007-08 campaign by aggressively recruiting freshmen and sophomores. As a result, seniors Albert, Tyler, Prashant, Cyrus, and Navonil were split to guide the newcomers on two varsity teams. Early season appearances include a finals sweep of the ULL fall Quiz Bowl tournament and a finals loss to St. John's A at the TBQA Kickoff tournament. Coach Jason Flowers then redelegated Tyler, Albert, Prashant, and Cyrus to the A Team and formed a B Team rotation with senior Navonil Ghosh captaining Shen, Thomas, Daniel, and Aaron Pellowski. The reunited A Team proceeded to sweep all remaining Texas events, overcoming longtime rival St. John's A in every match they played en route to a two team appearance at HSNCT.

The LASA A Team placed well at the 2007-08 HSNCT, finishing 7th out of 176 teams with a notable playoff victory over Dorman A. The B Team placed 76th.

2008-09

LASA's TQBA kickoff ended in disappointment as the team was knocked out in the first round of playoffs, though the team would rebound to score a victory at the Central Texas Open with a three-handed team. The LASA-St. John's rivalry was renewed in the following two tournaments, as St. John's knocked LASA out of the playoffs in the Houston Holiday Hoedown as well as the Maverick Challenge.

2009-10

During the 2009-10 season, LASA hosted and won a mirror of the Fall Novice Tournament. Notable for also travelling to and winning many Texas college tournaments outright, they also placed 1st at Hunter's Prison Bowl III on February 27, 2010, going undefeated there and getting 28.06 points per bonus in the prelims.

2010-11

During this season, Thomas Littrell, Benji Nguyen, Daniel Chupin, and Aaron Pellowski won several tournaments, including HFT V, and were universally regarded as the best or second-best team in the nation for much of the year. LASA sent five teams to the 2011 HSNCT, with the A through D teams all qualifying for the playoffs. LASA A finished 2nd at HSNCT after losing two games in a final and placed 3rd at the 2011 NSC.

2011-12

In 2012, an A team of four LASA juniors knocked tournament favorite Hunter out of the playoffs on their way to a 3rd place finish, but the team did not attend NSC.

Alumni

Tyler Smith
Albert Bayer
Cyrus Bordbar
Navonil Ghosh
Prashant Raghavendran
Shen Gong
Thomas Littrell
Benji Nguyen
Daniel Chupin
Aaron Pellowski