UGA
| University of Georgia | |
| |
|---|---|
| Location: Athens, GA | |
| Current President or Coach | Nneka Omoma |
| National championships | none |
| NAQT Page | link |
This article describes the quizbowl team at the University of Georgia. For high quizbowl in the state of Georgia, see Georgia Academic Team Association.
The University of Georgia Quizbowl Team is a student-run organization that competes in collegiate-level quizbowl competitions and traditionally hosts collegiate events throughout the year. The current iteration of the team is a mainstay in the Southeast quizbowl circuit, finishing 9th in D2 at the 2022 ICT and in the top bracket at 2021 ACF Regionals.
Current Players
- Aidan Leahy
- Nneka Omoma
- Bob Freedman
- Ashrit Jada
- Nick Martin
- Jason Hawkins
- Jon Golan
- Elijah Odunade
- Alex King
History
Georgia has a long quizbowl history, having participated in the original GE College Bowl at least as far back as the 1950s. The team has been consistently active in "good quizbowl", first playing ICT in 1998.
Notable Former Players
- Brian Jenkins
- Elliott Rountree (former Chattahoochee coach)
- Robin Richards
- Andrew Moore
- Noah Mink
- Chris Chiego
- Wes Austin
- Julia Tallant
- Jason Fern
- Kailyn LaPorte
- Zack Johnson
- Bhanodai Pippala
- David Galban
- Zane Placie
- Josh Christopher
- Roary Maevetz
- Kota Roberson
- David Stewart
2005-2006 Season
Georgia hosted the 2006 NAQT SCT-Southeast, where its Division II team went 11-1 and qualified for the ICT, where it went 10-3 for a 9th place finish. Georgia also sent a Division I team to that year's ICT.
In the aftermath of the previous leadership losing university funding, placing a high emphasis on funn, and several other issues, the team ratified a new organizational constitution in the spring semester and held officer elections for the first time in recent memory.
2006-2007 Season
The next year, Georgia attended an ACF tournament for the first time in several years, when three UGA teams competed at ACF Fall 2006 at Vanderbilt, winning 3rd and 4th place. At the 2007 Southeast SCT, a Division II team again qualified for the ICT, where they finished in 19th place with a 7-6 record. That same team later won the D-II division of the 2007 Moon Pie Classic.
The Georgia team hosted a juniorbird tournament for college teams in the fall, as well as the inaugural editions of the Classic City Classic and Tournament at the Arch. The CCC, held on December 2 using NAQT IS-62, featured 27 teams and was won by Dorman A, with Chattahoochee B finishing second. (Stats here.) The TATA was held on April 21, using house-written questions and attracting a 21 team field. Brookwood A defeated Dorman A in the finals on a tie-breaker question. (Stats here.)
2007-2008 Season
At ACF Fall 2007 at Shorter, six UGA teams, the most ever fielded by UGA, finished 2nd, 3rd, 12th, 17th, 19th, and 21st, with the top two teams also winning the top two undergraduate spots. A UGA team also won the 2007 Titanomachy at Alabama, running the table to go 9-0. At the 2008 Southeast SCT at Alabama, UGA A went 6-6 in the upper DI bracket to win the DI undergraduate title. UGA B finished at the top of the DI lower bracket, UGA C finished 9-3 in the upper DII bracket for 3rd place, and the other two UGA teams finished in the middle DII bracket. UGA also hosted a mirror of the 2008 TIT/MLK tournament in January, (Stats here.). At the 2008 ICT in St. Louis, UGA's all-undergraduate team matched the highest-ever finish by a UGA team, placing 18th overall in Division I.
The second annual Classic City Classic, held on December 1 using NAQT IS-70, featured 16 teams and was won by Dorman A, with Dorman B finishing second. (Stats here.) The second TATA was held on March 1, using house-written questions, which was also won by Dorman A over Dorman B.(Stats for Varsity here.)
2008-2009 Season
UGA hosted mirrors of the 2009 ACF Winter and the 2009 NAQT SCT tournaments. After winning the EFT mirror at Florida State, a number of younger players participated in the 2009 ACF Regional and Penn Bowl mirror tournaments at Georgia Tech. UGA finally assembled its top players together again for the 2009 ICT, at which they finished 15th.
2009-2010 Season
Wes Austin wrote anther incarnation of the Classic City Classic, which received positive national reviews. Unfortunately, a poorly-run ACF Winter mirror heralded a crisis in team leadership. The team grew less active and organized over the next few years, especially after Austin left.
2013-2014 Revival
Buoyed by an influx of local talent, including Athens Academy star Jason Fern, the UGA team became much more active and began hosting both high school and collegiate tournaments (notably mirrors of Penn Bowl) again.
2014-2015 Season
The team achieved a 4th-place finish in DII at the 2015 ICT.