Maggie L. Walker Governor's School

BoB Squad / Academic Team

2006-2007 Season

9/24/06: University of Maryland Fall Tournament
Not knowing what to expect, a team of Mark, Mehdi, Will, and Evan woke up early Sunday morning and made the long drive up to UMD for the Fall It's Academic-style tournament. We were new to the format (played primarily in Northern Virginia and Maryland), where each match consists of five rounds--10 letter-themed tossups (10 pts ea.), 6 directed team questions (20 pts ea.), 10 tossups centered around a category (10 pts ea.), 8 directed team questions (20 pts ea. with a 25 pt bonus for all correct), and 15 longer tossups (20 pts ea.). Interestingly enough, each team started out with 100 points, conferring on all questions was allowed, and any time an incorrect answer was given in the tossup rounds, the equivalent value of one tossup was lost. The tired team got through their first four preliminary rounds with a 4-0 record, though with a couple of challenging games. After lunch, they were a bit more energized, winning the next three preliminary round matches. Teams beaten were Calvert Hall A, Blake, Hayfield, Perry Hall B, Georgetown Day School A, Eleanor Roosevelt B, and Thomas Jefferson C.

The team was seeded first in the playoffs. There, they defeated #16 seed Centennial B (490-280), #8 seed Dulaney A (520-370), and #4 seed Thomas Jefferson B (580-330), before meeting #2 seed and in-state rival Thomas Jefferson A. After a close game over the first four rounds of the match, Maggie Walker was able to pull ahead and secure the match in the last round, ultimately winning 585-500. Going undefeated through the tournament, they brought home the first trophy of the year.

10/07/2006: Thomas Jefferson Invitational Academic Tournament (NAQT)
Maggie Walker took four teams to TJHSST�s fall tournament. In the preliminary rounds, the A-team suffered their first loss of the year to Stuyvesant A from New York in the highest scoring game of the tournament. They did win against Hayfield A, State College B, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Madison to post a 4-1 record. B-team went 3-2 with wins against Oakton, Robinson B, and Maret A. They lost to Richard Montgomery A and Collegiate. The C- and D-teams both went 2-3. C-team had wins against Banneker B and Maret B with several close losses and D-team had wins against Clover Hill B and Maret C. B-team narrowly missed advancement to playoffs, while A-team advanced as #2 seed for the even bracket. In the playoffs, they defeated Ocean Lakes (560-60) and Georgetown Day School A (550-225), before losing to State College A (335-425) in an exciting semifinal game that came down to the last question. In the third place game, A-team defeated Collegiate (480-80) to take home the third place trophy. Richard Montgomery A defeated State College A in the finals to win the tournament. As a result of the tournament, A-team qualified to attend the NAQT HSNCT, a national tournament to be held in May 2007 in Illinois.
A-team: Evan, Mark, Mehdi, Will
B-team: Andrew, Annalisa, Joanna, Palmer
C-team: Anant, Erik, Gibson, Manasa, Matt
D-team: Cory, Greg, Sarah, Cameron

11/11/2006: University of Virginia Cavalier Classic XI
Maggie Walker took five teams to UVA�s fall tournament. In the preliminary rounds, A-team posted a 6-0 record, winning against Thomas Jefferson D, Grafton B, Mount Vernon, Robinson B, Clover Hill A, and Howard. B-team was also undefeated, having wins against Clover Hill B, Collegiate, Fairfax A, Thomas Jefferson C, Louisa County A, and Parry McCluer A. C-team had a 4-2 record defeating Grafton A, Hermitage, Louisa County B, and Warren County A, while losing to Cave Spring A and Thomas Jefferson A. D-team was 3-3, winning against Warren County B, Manassas Park, and Northeast, while an E-team consisting of all freshmen attending their first tournament went 1-6, winning against Fairfax B. In the 32-team playoffs A-team was seeded #1, B-team #6, C-team #17, and D-team #24. E-team narrowly missed making the playoffs. The C- and D-teams lost in the first round of playoffs. B-team had an excellent streak, defeating #27 seed Warren County A (320-80) and #22 seed Clover Hill B (370-135) before losing to #3 seed Gonzaga (170-315). They did play on to defeat #10 seed Richard Montgomery B (200-185) and secure a tie for 5th. In the playoffs, A-team had wins against #32 Louisa County A (forfeit), #16 St. Anne�s Belfield A (495-110), and #9 Thomas Jefferson B (470-60) before facing last year�s national champions Richard Montgomery A. They defeated the #5 seed in a match that came down to the last question (285-280) and subsequently defeated #2 seed Thomas Jefferson A (265-255) in the finals in a similar fashion. Richard Montgomery A beat Gonzaga in the third place game. As a result of the tournament, B-team joined A-team in qualifying for the PACE NSC, a national tournament to be held in June 2007 in Michigan.
A-team: Evan, Mark, Mehdi, Will
B-team: Andrew, Annalisa, Joanna, Palmer
C-team: Erik, Greg, Matt, Sarah
D-team: Andi, Catherine, Eric, Quint
E-team: Ben, Dylan, Elizabeth, Mariam

11/18/06: Spotswood Academic Competition Tournament (ACT) I
Andrew, Evan, and Will went to Spotswood�s fall tournament, the ACT I, in Penn Laird, VA. Fairly unchallenged in preliminary round play, they were undefeated and seeded first in the playoffs. There, they defeated Robert E. Lee B (405-100), Parry McCluer A (360-60), and Cave Spring A (285-130) before facing Gonzaga in the finals. In what was reported as an exciting match, they came back from a large deficit but ended up losing the match (205-270) to place second at the tournament.

12/3/06: Centennial Tournament (Maryland)
A team of Mark, Mehdi, Will, Annalisa, and Palmer woke up early Sunday morning for the long drive to Centennial�s tournament in Ellicott City, MD. The format was conferring (including tossups) and bouncebacks (including bonuses) on all questions. In the preliminary rounds, the team was in the �Despair� bracket, where they defeated St. Maria Goretti, Arch. Spalding B, Whitman B, Woodrow Wilson, and Hammond B. They were thus undefeated going into playoffs, where they ended up seeded first. In the first round, they defeated #16 Georgetown Day School A (315-210) in a very close match where they had to fight back from a 120-point deficit. Subsequent games were played in a similar comeback fashion, resulting in wins against #8 Blake (420-155), #4 Thomas Jefferson B (350-260), and #3 Gonzaga A (315-230) in the finals. The team went undefeated to win the tournament and a hefty eagle-shaped trophy.

12/9/06: Governor's School Academic Competition XIV
This is our school's annually run tournament using house-written questions. The format is 20 tossup-bonus. Thomas Jefferson A defeated State College A in the finals 305-235. For full results, see Results page.

12/16/06: Inaugural Cave Spring Invitational (CSI)
We brought four teams to this tournament in Roanoke, VA. Each round consisted of three periods: a lightning round (10 short 10-pt tossups with negs), a category round (10 related 10-pt questions with bouncebacks and a 50-pt bonus for all 10 correct), and a pyramid round (10 standard 10-pt pyramidal questions with negs and 30-pt bonuses; no bouncebacks on bonuses). Since the tournament was divided into three brackets, B-team and D-team ended up in the same bracket. After five rounds of play, A-team was 5-0, defeating William Campbell A, Collegiate, Auburn A, William Byrd, and Hidden Lebanon (a hybrid team). B-team also went 5-0, defeating Hidden Valley, Russell B, Blessed Sacrament-Huguenot B, Lebanon A, and D-team. C-team went 4-1, defeating Blessed Sacrament-Huguenot A, Auburn B, Lebanon B, William Campbell B, though losing to Russell A. D-team went 1-4 with a win against Blessed Sacrament-Huguenot B. After prelims, we won several individual prizes--Will and Mehdi tied for first, Palmer received third, Joanna received fourth, and Evan received ninth place. In the playoffs, A-team was seeded first, B-team second, and C-team fifth in the upper half, while D-team was seeded twelfth and played in the lower half. D-team held their seed to go twelfth for the tournament overall, and C-team lost to #4 Collegiate (55-315) in the first round of playoffs though bounced back to win against #7 Blessed Sacrament-Huguenot A (230-125) and #8 Hidden Valley (230-110) to take fifth place overall. A-team defeated #8 Hidden Valley (435-40) and #3 Russell A (465-135) before meeting...the B-team in the finals! B-team defeated #7 Blessed Sacrament-Huguenot A (340-150) and #4 Collegiate (365-140) on their road to the finals. In the finals, A-team defeated B-team (300-200), though both took home some very nice trophies. Congratulations team!
A-team: Evan, Mark, Mehdi, Will
B-team: Andrew, Greg, Joanna, Palmer
C-team: Ben, Matt, Quint, Sarah
D-team: Cameron, Dylan, Elizabeth, Eric

01/13/2007: Jefferson Invitational Academic Tournament
Maggie Walker took five teams to TJHSST�s second tournament in Alexandria, VA. As per any other TJ tournament, teams were divided into an odd bracket, where our A-, C-, and E-teams played, and an even bracket, where our B- and D-teams played. The top 8 teams from each bracket advance to playoffs. In the preliminary rounds, A-team went 4-1, beating Oakton, Blake, Walter Johnson, and Raleigh Charter, though losing to Richard Montgomery B. B-team went 3-2, beating Wilmington Charter B, Wilmington Charter D, and Wilson, though losing to Gonzaga and Richard Montgomery A. C-team went 2-3, beating Oakton and Whitman B. D-team went 3-2, beating Covenant, Collegiate, and Robinson B, while losing to Centennial A and Wilmington Charter B. Finally, E-team went 0-5, though they didn�t leave empty-handed. After the prelims, Seth received the award for most neg-5s with 14 total, walking away with a dolphin-shaped candle for his troubles.

In the playoffs, A-team was seeded #2 in the odd bracket, and the B- and D-teams were #6 and #8 respectively in the even bracket. A-team advanced by defeating even #7 Georgetown Day School (510-0), though B- and D-teams lost the first playoff round to odd #3 Wilmington Charter A and odd #1 Richard Montgomery B, respectively. Next, A-team defeated even #3 Gonzaga (225-205) in a close match, before facing national powerhouse even #1 Richard Montgomery A. In a very tight match, Maggie Walker won on the last question (225-210). In the finals, they faced odd #5 Raleigh Charter, who had fought against the odds to make it to the finals. A-team won (390-65) to take home a fancy trophy topped with a life-size Mighty Mouse.
A-team: Evan, Mark, Mehdi, Will
B-team: Anant, Andrew, Erik, Palmer
C-team: Greg, Manasa, Matt, Sarah
D-team: Ben, Eric, Leaf, Quint
E-team: Cameron, Dylan, Elizabeth, Seth

01/20/07: Virginia High School League (VHSL) Districts
This tournament was held at Deep Run High School, and representing Maggie Walker was a team consisting of Anant, Andrew, Annalisa, Erik, Evan, Greg, Joanna, Mehdi, Palmer, Sarah, and Will. The question format was VHSL with each match comprising three rounds: 15 10-pt pyramidal tossups, 10 directed questions with bouncebacks, and 15 more 10-pt pyramidal tossups. All the while, neg-5s are in effect for answering incorrectly before the question is complete. The tournament format was round robin play with the top two based on W-L record and then points per game advancing to the regional meet at Hermitage High School. Maggie Walker went 5-0 to win the Colonial District, defeating Douglas Freeman (260-175), Mills Godwin (345-100), Deep Run (325-110), J.R. Tucker (340-75), and Hermitage (290-165). With a 3-2 record, Douglas Freeman placed second and also advances to Regionals on February 3rd.

02/03/07: Virginia High School League (VHSL) Regionals
This tournament was held at Hermitage High School, and representing Maggie Walker was a team consisting of Anant, Andrew, Annalisa, Erik, Joanna, Palmer, Quint, and Sarah. The question format was VHSL with each match comprising three rounds: 15 10-pt pyramidal tossups, 10 directed questions with bouncebacks, and 15 more 10-pt pyramidal tossups. All the while, neg-5s are in effect for answering incorrectly before the question is complete. The tournament format was round robin play with the top two based on W-L record and then points per game advancing to the state meet at William and Mary. Maggie Walker defeated Clover Hill (245-130), Henrico (265-165), Douglas Freeman (200-185), Thomas Dale (320-80), Cosby (260-110), Matoaca (220-90), and Lee Davis (295-90), going 7-0 to win the Central Region, defeating .With a 6-1 record, Henrico placed second and also advances to States on February 24th.

02/03/07: Gonzaga College Academic Tournament
While the starting B-team and others competed at Regionals, the A-team, consisting of Evan, Mark, Mehdi, and Will, competed at Gonzaga�s tournament in Washington, D.C. The question format was standard 20 tossup-bonus, though there were no neg-5s, and bouncebacks were always in effect. Maggie Walker went 5-0 in the preliminary rounds, defeating Thomas Jefferson C, Perry Hall A, Calvert Hall A, Baltimore Polytechnic B, and Howard. Based on points, the team was seeded #1 in playoffs. There they defeated #16 Robinson A (645-40) in the first round, #9 Hunter (450-170) in the quarterfinals, and #4 Thomas Jefferson A (380-150) in the semifinals. In the finals, they met #2 Dorman, a South Carolina team, who had beaten Richard Montgomery A in their semifinal match. Though the match was fairly close in the beginning, Maggie Walker pulled away in the second half to defeat Dorman (370-185) and win the tournament.

02/24/07: Virginia High School League (VHSL) States
This tournament was held at the College of William and Mary, and representing Maggie Walker was a team consisting of Annalisa, Evan, Joanna, Mark, Palmer, and Will. The question format was VHSL with each match comprising three rounds: 15 10-pt pyramidal tossups, 10 directed questions with bouncebacks, and 15 more 10-pt pyramidal tossups. All the while, neg-5s are in effect for answering incorrectly before the question is complete. The tournament format was double elimination round robin play. Maggie Walker defeated Hayfield in a close match (205-200) and Princess Anne (245-210) before suffering a loss to Thomas Jefferson (180-250). Now in a sudden death situation, the team bounced back to defeat Princess Anne again (250-190) before facing the undefeated Thomas Jefferson in the finals with a one game disadvantage; they would have to defeat TJ twice to win the tournament. They won a fairly close first game (230-215), and, with both teams facing sudden death, won against their in-state rivals a second time (225-180) to capture the VHSL state title. Congratulations, team!

03/03/07: Colonel Ebirt Memorial Tournament
Maggie Walker brought five teams to this tournament, directed by alumnus Matt Morrison at William and Mary. With a 23-team field, the top 4 would qualify for NAQT Nationals. There were seven preliminary rounds followed by double elimination playoffs for the top 8 teams and single elimination for teams 9-23. A-team went 6-0 (one bye), defeating Collegiate B, Thomas Jefferson B, Freeman A, Trinity A, Spotswood B, and D-team. B-team went 5-2, defeating Denbigh, Trinity B, Covenant, Tabb, and Thomas Jefferson C, though losing to State College A and Ocean Lakes. C-team went 4-3, beating Freeman B, E-team, Spotswood A, and Collegiate A. D-team went 3-3, defeating Collegiate B, Spotswood B, and Trinity A. Finally, E-team went 1-6 with a win over Freeman B. Luckily, everyone made playoffs for extra games.

In the playoffs, the A- and B-teams made the top 8, seeded #1 and #7 respectively. In the 16-team consolation bracket, C-team was seeded #1, D-team was #4, and E-team was #13. In the end C-team won, beating E-team in the semifinals, who had conquered D-team in the quarterfinals. In the first round of main playoffs, A-team defeated #8 State College B (300-190), and B-team had a comeback upset against #2 State College A (355-330). In the second round, A-team defeated #4 Thomas Jefferson A (375-295), and B-team also won against #6 Freeman A (325-180). This meant that in the third round of playoffs, A-team and B-team were the only two undefeated teams left, so they played one another with A-team coming out on top (625-65). Thanks to Matt Morrison�s crazy bracketing, the two teams had to play each other again, with A-team winning again and eliminating B-team (550-55). Now, A-team would play for the championship with a won game advantage over State College A, while B-team would play for third place against Thomas Jefferson A. A-team came out victorious in the first game off the last question (370-330) to win the inaugural tournament, and B-team also won to take third place (375-255). As a result, B-team is now qualified, with A-team, to attend the NAQT HSNCT, a national tournament to be held in May 2007 in Illinois.
A-team: Evan, Mark, Mehdi, Will
B-team: Andrew, Annalisa, Joanna, Palmer
C-team: Erik, Greg, Matt, Sarah
D-team: Catherine, Eric, Leaf
E-team: Ben, Cameron, Maryam, Quint

03/10/07: VCU Open 2007: Official Jerk Policy
A team of Evan, Mark, Mehdi, and Will made the long hike to Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond for this tournament, a mirror of the same question set used at Illinois, Brown, and UCLA. It was a college tournament involving both undergraduates and graduates from colleges throughout Virginia and beyond. The questions were all written by college players (with a packet written by us that we didn�t play on). The question format was 20 tu/b with a greater difficulty than most high school questions, and the tournament format was a double round robin for the eight teams involved, resulting in 14 games total. The winner would be the team with the most wins or the team that won a playoff if two teams were tied by wins. Maggie Walker beat William and Mary (445-165), Virginia Tech (355-145), Maryland B (395-150), UVA (380-190), and South Carolina (290-165) in the first half of the day. The first two losses also came in the first half of the day to Maryland A (150-320) and Maryland B (205-305). In the afternoon, Maggie Walker beat William and Mary (320-120), Virginia Tech (320-195), Duke (385-150), UVA (420-130), and South Carolina (485-170) before, in the 13^th round, meeting Maryland A, who was in first place at the time, albeit with two losses. Since both Maryland A and Maggie Walker were tied for wins, the winner of this match would essentially win the tournament, assuming they won the 14^th round. After an intense match, Maggie Walker emerged the victor (320-260) on the last couple of questions. They subsequently beat Duke (470-60) to win the tournament with a 12-2 record over nearest competitor Maryland A�s 11-3 record, securing both the Tournament Champion and Undergraduate Champion titles. We thank MLWGS alumnus Matt Weiner for a well-run tournament.

03/17/07: University of Virginia Cavalier Open IV
This tournament at UVA in Charlottesville featured 24 teams from several states competing on NAQT format. There were five preliminary rounds followed by seeding and two playoff rounds. Those who won both their playoff rounds would go on to the final round robin, while those who won their first round but lost the second would play in the consolation rounds. The team with the most wins in the round robin would win, though a tie in record would lead to a final. In the prelims, A-team defeated Northeast, Albemarle C, Thomas Jefferson B, Clover Hill B, and Robinson, going 5-0 with 561ppg. B-team went 4-1, defeating Thomas Jefferson D, Fairfax, Cosby, and Clover Hill A, though losing to Dorman A. C-team went 3-2 defeating Albemarle B, Hermitage, and St. Anne's Belfield, while losing to Martin Luther King Magnet and Thomas Jefferson A. D-team went 0-5 in prelims in a strong bracket. After prelims, A-team was seeded #1, B-team #8, C-team #11, and D-team #22 in the seeded playoffs.

In the first playoff round, A-team defeated #24 Northeast (forfeit), and B-team defeated #17 Clover Hill B (445-5), though C-team was upset by #14 St. Anne's Belfield (120-250) and D-team lost to #3 Dorman A (50-360). In the second round, A-team defeated #13 Thomas Jefferson D (590-20), though B-team lost to #5 Thomas Jefferson B (160-310). Thus, A-team entered the six-team final round robin, while B-team entered the six-team consolation round robin. B-team defeated Robinson, St. Anne's-Belfield, Chattahoochee, and Thomas Jefferson D, though lost to Dorman B. Dorman B, Chattahoochee, and B-team were all tied by playoff record at 4-1, though, by point differential, B-team was given 3rd in the round robin and 9th overall in the tournament. In the upper division, A-team defeated Martin Luther King Magnet from Tennessee (385-280), Thomas Jefferson B (430-245), Whitman (455-285), Dorman A (435-170), and Thomas Jefferson A (565-175) to go undefeated in the final round robin and win the tournament. Thomas Jefferson B was 2nd and MLK Magnet 3rd.
A-team: Evan, Mark, Mehdi, Will
B-team: Andrew, Annalisa, Joanna, Palmer
C-team: Erik, Greg, Matt, Sarah
D-team: Ben, Cory, Eric, Quint

03/24/07: Ocean Lakes Dolphin Academic Tournament (DAT)
We sent four teams to this inaugural tournament at Ocean Lakes High School in the Virginia Beach area. There were six preliminary rounds, after which teams would be ranked prior to playoffs. The top 8 teams would compete in a double elimination bracket, while the bottom 4 (12 teams competed in total) would play in a single elmination consolation bracket. In the prelims, A-team, competing man-down, went 6-0, defeating Norfolk Collegiate B, Kempsville, D-team, Princess Anne B, Freeman A, and Norfolk Collegiate A. B-team also went 6-0, defeating Lake Taylor, Norfolk Collegiate A, Freeman B, C-team, Princess Anne A, and Kempsville. C-team went 4-2, defeating Freeman B, Lake Taylor, Norfolk Collegiate A, and Freeman A, though losing to Princess Anne A and B-team. D-team went 3-3, defeating Norfolk Collegiate B, Princess Anne B, and Lake Taylor. All of our teams made the double elimination bracket with A-team seeded #1, B-team #2, C-team #4, and D-team #7. In addition, Will and Evan were first and second in individual scoring, respectively. Palmer was also the "Neg King" with 9 incorrect interrupts, earning himself and Dr. Barnes commemorative DAT t-shirts.

In the first round of playoffs, A-team beat #8 Norfolk Collegiate A (595-20), B-team beat #7 D-team (545-60), C-team lost to #5 Freeman A (235-320), and D-team of course lost to #2 B-team (60-545). In the second round, A-team was upset by #5 Freeman A (210-305), B-team beat #3 Princess Anne A (360-220), C-team beat #8 Norfolk Collegiate A (225-140), and D-team was unfortunately eliminated by #6 Kempsville (135-255). In the third round, A-team, in a sudden death situation, eliminated #6 Kempsville (505-65), B-team beat cinderella #5 Freeman A (310-210), and C-team was eliminated by #3 Princess Anne A (255-320). With only four teams left, the undefeated B-team received a bye into the championship, and Freeman A received a bye into the semifinal. In the sole quarterfinal match, A-team faced #3 Princess Anne A, whom they defeated (465-200), before entering the semifinal with Freeman. There, they avenged their earlier loss by defeating Freeman A (390-200). Now, they entered the championship with B-team, who held a one-game advantage. A-team defeated B-team in a lopsided first game (555-130) and a much closer second game (330-235) to take the championship in Maggie Walker's second one-two finish this year.
A-team: Evan, Mehdi, Will
B-team: Andrew, Annalisa, Joanna, Palmer
C-team: Anant, Greg, Matt, Sarah
D-team: Cameron, Catherine, Gibson, Maryam

03/31/07: George Mason University Patriot Games
This GMU tournament was run on questions from Vanderbilt's spring tournament. The tournament was divided into Nationals and Cinderella Brackets, with the Nationals Bracket consisting of teams already qualified for either of the two major nationals. Maggie Walker A and B competed in this bracket, while Maggie Walker C (JV A) and D (JV B) competed among those not yet qualified in the Cinderella Bracket. The format was 20 tossup-bonus with full round robin among the 10 teams in the Nationals Bracket and 8 teams in the Cinderella Bracket. In the Cinderella Bracket, C-team went 6-1, beating Howard (410-45), Stone Bridge (225-60), Annandale (275-10), Georgetown Day B (250-95), D-team (205-110), and Georgetown Day C (350-40), though losing a close game to Robinson (190-270). D-team went 2-5, beating Annandale (95-35) and Georgetown Day C (160-60). A four-team playoff was held, where C-team was seeded #2. They defeated #3 Georgetown Day B (160-95) and #1 Robinson (185-95) to win the Cinderella Bracket and thus qualify for the PACE NSC in Ann Arbor, Michigan! Greg from the C-team was second in scoring in the Cinderella Bracket and third overall in both brackets. In the Nationals Bracket, A-team went 9-0 in the round robin to win the tournament, beating Thomas Jefferson A (440-205), State College A (500-150), B-team (350-235), Gonzaga (345-235), Thomas Jefferson B (425-80), State College B (450-210), Thomas Jefferson C (705-5) in one of their highest scoring games this year, Georgetown Day A (440-95), and Walter Johnson (420-135). After a tiring set of morning rounds, B-team ended up 4-5 in the strong field, winning against Thomas Jefferson C (410-60), Georgetown Day A (275-170), Gonzaga (260-255), and Thomas Jefferson B (235-180). This put them in 7th place. At 7-2, State College A took 2nd and, at 6-3, Gonzaga 3rd.
A-team: Evan, Mark, Mehdi, Will
B-team: Anant, Andrew, Annalisa, Palmer
C-team: Catherine, Cory, Greg, Quint
D-team: Ben, Cameron, Kyle, Maryam

04/22/07: NAQT All-Virginia Tournament (NAQT States)
We brought three teams to this NAQT tournament at UVA in Charlottesville. This would be our last NAQT tournament of the year before Nationals, and it featured two 9-minute halves like Nationals. In addition to our three teams, Cameron and Quint graciously joined the Scab team to round out the field. There were two brackets, one including the A- and C-teams and the other including the B- and Scab teams. A-team went undefeated at 6-0 in their bracket with wins against C-team, Parry McCluer, Langley, Cave Spring B, St. Anne's-Belfield, and Thomas Jefferson B. B-team went 4-3 with wins against Churchland, the Scab team, Robinson A, and Freeman and losses to Cave Spring A, Thomas Jefferson A, and Collegiate. C-team went 2-4 with wins against Cave Spring B and Parry McCluer. With the help of Cameron and Quint, the Scab team went 1-6 with a win against Churchland. Will was the 5 th highest scorer overall after the prelims.

The top four teams from each bracket would now play a round robin against the top four from the other bracket in a double-elimination playoff. A-team was #1 on their side, and the other side featured an undefeated Thomas Jefferson A as #1 and B-team as #3. In the playoffs, A-team beat B-team (495-270), Cave Spring A (560-230), Freeman (610-90), and Thomas Jefferson A (550-285). B-team fell to A-team (270-495) and Thomas Jefferson B (205-450) but had wins against Langley (305-200) and St. Anne's-Belfield (475- -5), which put them in a tie for 4th overall. Since Thomas Jefferson A had lost a match to Thomas Jefferson B earlier in the playoffs, they were eliminated, which set up an advantaged final between the undefeated A-team and the one-loss (to the A-team in the prelims) Thomas Jefferson B. A-team dropped the first game to a tough Thomas Jefferson B (290-480) but came out on top in the second game (325-290) to win the NAQT Virginia State Championship.
A-team: Evan, Mark, Mehdi, Will
B-team: Anant, Erik, Greg, Palmer
C-team: Catherine, Leaf, Matt, Sarah
Scab: Cameron, Quint

04/29/07: Spring High School Classic Tournament at UMD
We brought two depleted teams to this tournament at the University of Maryland, College Park. The format was 20 tossup-bonus with 15-point powers in effect for getting the correct answers before a designated point in the question. A-team went undefeated in the prelims at 6-0 with wins against Centennial B, Hammond A, Paint Branch, Reservoir A, Eleanor Roosevelt B, and South Lakes A. B-team went 2-5 with wins against Stone Bridge B and Reservoir C. In the playoffs, A-team was seeded #1 and B-team #14 of 24 total. In the first round of the single-elimination playoffs, A-team had a bye and B-team fell in a close match to Centennial B (75-145). A-team beat #17 Paint Branch (475-85), #8 Woodson A (620-85), and #4 Walter Johnson (560-110) before reaching the finals where they faced #2 Whitman A. Though the match was close early on, the A-team lost (250-415) proving once again its inability to win the Spring UMD tournament.
A-team: Evan, Mehdi, Palmer, Will
B-team: Cameron, Matt, Quint, Sarah

05/05/07: VCU Season Finale Tournament
This tournament at the Virginia Commonwealth University in scenic Richmond was a modified PACE format, which comprises three periods�the first with eight 10-pt tossups with related 20-pt bonuses, the second with six 10-pt tossups with 15-pt bonuses of a chosen question category, and the third with eight 10-pt tossups with 20-pt powers for answering the question early and 30-pt unrelated bonuses. All the while, bouncebacks are in effect and negs for incorrect interrupts on tossups are not. The concentrated 16-team field was divided into two brackets of eight each, and the top two from each bracket would enter a single-elimination playoff. One bracket featured our B- and D-teams while the other contained our A- and C-teams. In the prelims, A-team went 7-0 with wins against Detroit Catholic Central B, Thomas Jefferson A, Clover Hill A, Dorman, Clover Hill C, C-team, and Freeman A. B-team went 5-2 with wins against Tucker, Clover Hill B, Freeman B, Thomas Jefferson B, and D-team, and with losses to Gonzaga and Detroit Catholic Central A. In a tough bracket, C-team went 1-6 with a win against Clover Hill C, and D-team also went 1-6 with a win against Tucker. Greg, Evan, and Will were named the 2 nd, 3rd, and 5th highest scorers respectively. Only A-team made the playoffs, seeded #1 in their bracket, where they defeated #2 from the other bracket Detroit Catholic Central A (500-240). In the finals, they met #2 from their own bracket, Dorman, who had come off a win against Gonzaga. Despite a flurry of incorrect interrupts, they managed to beat Dorman (395-295) to win this last tournament before nationals.
A-team: Evan, Mark, Mehdi, Will
B-team: Andrew/Leaf, Annalisa, Greg, Matt
C-team: Andi, Eric, Erik, Quint, Sarah
D-team: Ben, Cameron, Elizabeth, Maryam

"Battle of the Brains" Television Show
The local television show features teams from central Virginia battling it out until only one team is crowned the champion. The show consists of three periods�a tossup round with questions worth 10 points and incorrect interrupts result in -5 points, a category round where teams select two categories of 10 5-point directed questions with a 20-point bonus for all correct, and a tossup round like the first period. The Maggie Walker team, consisting of Evan, Mark, Mehdi, and Will, was seeded #1 overall going into the 2006-2007 season based on a qualification test. In the single-elimination format, they defeated L.C. Byrd, Deep Run, Riverbend, and Collegiate before meeting Colonial Forge in the finals, where they won a lopsided match. After being named the Central Virginia Champions, Mark and Will played a light-hearted All-Stars Game with six others. Will won and Mark was the runner-up. Next, Maggie Walker played the Southeast Virginia Champion, Ocean Lakes, in the Champions Challenge in a very close game in which they were trailing for much of the game, but pulled it out for a win. Visit www.battleofthebrains.net for more information. Go team!

Pre-Nationals Summary
Starting A-team (Evan, Mark, Mehdi, Will): 124-6 in matches (losses to Stuyvesant, State College A, Richard Montgomery B, UMD A, UMD B, Thomas Jefferson B), 12-1 in tournaments (including TV tournament, loss was 3rd place finish)
Nominal A-team (at various times Andrew, Annalisa, Joanna, Palmer plus starters) 54-4 in matches, 5-2 in tournaments (losses were both 2nd place finishes)
Starting B-team (Andrew, Annalisa, Joanna, Palmer): 38-12 in matches over 5 tournaments
Nominal B-team (at various times Anant, Cameron, Erik, Greg, Leaf, Matt, Quint, Sarah plus starters): 27-22 in matches over 6 tournaments

05/26/07-05/27/07: NAQT High School National Championship (HSNCT)
Two teams qualified for this first of two national championships to be attended this year, this one being held in Chicago, IL. The NAQT format features two timed 9-minute halves with a maximum of 26 tossups read over the course of the match. Tossups are worth 10 points, with 15-point powers in effect for answering the tossups before a designated point. Bonuses, which do not bounce back, are worth 30 points and are awarded solely to the team getting the tossup. In the meantime, five points are deducted for incorrect interrupts. The HSNCT was run by a card system that allowed for Swiss pairings among the 160 teams that competed and minimized time between rounds. On the first day, each team played 10 rounds, and any team with a 6-4 record or higher made the following day's playoffs.

A-team went 9-1 the first day with wins against Champlain Valley from VT (500-40), Chaska from MN (500-45), Parkview Arts and Science Magnet from AR (570-115), Dorman A from SC (600-25), Brindlee Mountain A from AL (300-200), Eden Prairie A from MN (540-175), and then State College A from PA (375-195) to gain the #1 card, which it proceeded to lose in a nail-biter that came down to the last question against MLK Magnet from TN (260-285). It rounded out the day with solid wins against Dorman B (420-265) and Gonzaga from DC (555-90). B-team had wins against Fisher Catholic from OH (195-185), Southeast Polk from IA (340-95), Liberty from MO (220-190), Loveless Academic Magnet from AL (235-175), Fisher Catholic again (260-110), and Collegiate from VA (220-150) to narrowly make the playoffs with a 6-4 record. They had losses to Brindlee Mountain B (210-255), Dorman B (235-370), Richard Montgomery B from MD (155-250), and Maine South from IL (170-305). Will on A-team was named the #10 highest scorer overall after prelims.

Though A-team held the #9 card at the end of the first day, by virtue of points per 20 tossups heard, they were seeded #1 the next day ahead of #2 State College A and #3 Richard Montgomery A who were 9-1and 8-2 respectively. B-team was seeded #43 of the 61 teams that made the playoffs. The playoffs were run by a card system as well but were now double elimination. In the first round, A-team had a bye and B-team pulled an upset over #22 Bloomington from IL (215-170). Next, A-team beat #32 Raleigh Charter from NC (710-30), while B-team fell to #11 Santa Monica from CA (225-430). In the third round, A-team held onto the #1 card by beating #16 Dorman B (495-195), while B-team was eliminated by Aiken from SC (145-215), putting them in a tie for 33 rd overall. In the fourth round, A-team beat #8 North Kansas City from MO (555-135), and in the fifth #4 Whitman from MD (500-245). In the sixth round, A-team faced the only other undefeated playoff team remaining, #2 State College A, whom they beat (415-300). By being the only remaining undefeated team, A-team had a bye in the seventh round but faced Thomas Jefferson A from VA in a cross-bracketed eighth round. They won this final four game (620-190), and State College A eliminated Dorman A in the other game (360-305). Thomas Jefferson A earned 3rd place by beating Dorman A (400-290). The undefeated A-team now played an advantaged final against the one-loss (to the A-team) State College A, which they won (475-230). With a 16-1 record in the tournament, this was Maggie Walker's first NAQT National Championship following second place finishes in 2000 (to State College A) and 2004 (to Thomas Jefferson A) and only the third national quiz bowl title in the school's history. Go team! For more information, go to www.naqt.com. The team now looks forward sadly to its final tournament of the year, PACE Nationals in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
A-team: Evan, Mark, Mehdi, Will
B-team: Andrew, Annalisa, Joanna, Palmer

06/09/07-06/10/07: PACE National Scholastic Championship (NSC)
Three teams qualified for this second of the two national championships we attend each year, this one being held in Ann Arbor, MI. In the PACE format, matches are divided into three parts. The related tossup-bonus round consists of 10 tossups worth 10 points each with 20-point bonuses related in subject to the tossup. The category round consists of eight 10-point tossups, where correctly answering a tossup allows one to choose a 15-point bonus from a selection of categories (Arts, Current Events, Geography, History, Literature, Math Calculation, Pop Culture, Religion/ Mythology/Philosophy, Science, Social Science). The final stretch round consists of 10 tossups worth 20 points before the giveaway clue is read and 10 points thereafter. A team receives a directed 30-point bonus for correctly answering the tossup. All bonuses and tossups bounce back and there are no negs. The 36 teams at the NSC were divided into four brackets, and each team played eight rounds in their bracket. The top three teams from each bracket advanced to playoffs, where they were re-divided into brackets of six, while the remaining played in consolation playoffs on Sunday.

C-team went 2-6 with wins against Tippecanoe B from OH (185-100) and Perry Hall from MD (235-175), but losses, many close, to Detroit Catholic Central from MI (270-345), Dorman from SC (145-605), Walter Johnson from MD (210-395), Brindlee Mountain B from AL (245-280), State College B from PA (180-280), and Thomas Jefferson A from VA (210-345). They advanced to the consolation playoffs as the #7 seed from their bracket. B-team went 4-4 with wins against Episcopal Collegiate from AR (385-175), Centennial B from MD (310-160), Garfield Heights from OH (410-220), and St. Andrew's Episcopal from MS (295-150). They lost in mostly close matches to East Lansing from MI (230-315), Stuyvesant from NY (220-355), State College A (310-410), and Carbondale A from IL (285-305). Narrowly missing the main playoff bracket, they advanced to consolations as the #4 seed from their bracket. A-team went 8-0 with wins against Hardee from FL (595-65), Novi from MI (550-245), Centennial A (640-145), New Trier from IL (540-230), Brindlee Mountain A (545-210), Gonzaga from DC (465-295), Tippecanoe A (610-120), and Solon from OH (685-30).

On the second day, the top teams from each bracket were regrouped into two brackets, where they played a round robin. The remaining teams were regrouped into six smaller consolation brackets of four teams each where they also played a round robin. C-team lost close games to Thomas Jefferson B and Tippecanoe A but held on to win against Centennial B to go 1-2. B-team went 2-1 with wins against State College B and Carbondale B but a loss to Novi. They then played a five-question mini-match, beating Garfield Heights to take the #7 seed of the eight teams that advanced to the quarterfinals. They subsequently beat #2 Novi and #3 Brindlee Mountain B before losing to Detroit Catholic Central in the Consolation Finals to take 2 nd place in the Consolation Championships! Nice work, B-team! Meanwhile, the A-team faced some drama itself. After going 4-1 with wins against Dorman (430-285), New Trier (595-185), East Lansing (610-265), Eden Prairie from MN (600-180) and a loss in a tight match to Stuyvesant (395-500), the A-team faced a three-way tie. Only two teams could advance to the semifinals, so each team played a five-question mini-match against each of the others. Tossups were worth 10 points and bonuses up to 30 points with bouncebacks still in effect. The two teams with the most total points scored over the course of their mini-matches would advance. Dorman beat Stuyvesant (130-60) in the first, A-team beat Stuyvesant (100-90) in the second, and A-team beat Dorman (90-60) in the third. Thus, both Dorman and A-team advanced, with A-team securing the #1 seed in the bracket by virtue of points per game throughout the playoffs. This meant they played #2 from the other bracket, Thomas Jefferson A, in the semis. They beat their intrastate rivals (440-290) and then came to the juggernaut, undefeated MLK Magnet who had fed the A-team their only loss at the NAQT HSNCT and were undefeated at the NSC. However, they were no match for the A-team who avenged their HSNCT loss and fed MLK their only loss (580-225) to win the PACE NSC and sweep both national tournaments, only the third team ever to do so. Go Dragons! After the tournament, Mark and Will were voted onto the All-Star Team and played in a pop culture only game where they held their own.
A-team: Evan, Mark, Mehdi, Will
B-team: Andrew, Annalisa, Greg, Joanna
C-team: Anant, Erik, Matt, Quint, Sarah

Final Year Summary
Starting A-team (Evan, Mark, Mehdi, Will): 154-8 (two losses to Stuyvesant, one each to State College A, Richard Montgomery B, UMD A, UMD B, Thomas Jefferson B, MLK Magnet A), 14-1 in tournaments (including TV tournament, loss was 3rd place finish), including 2-0 in national tournaments
Nominal A-team (at various times Andrew, Annalisa, Joanna, Palmer plus starters): 54-4 in matches, 5-2 in tournaments (losses were both 2nd place finishes)
Starting B-team (Andrew, Annalisa, Joanna, Palmer): 45-18 in matches over 6 tournaments (including nationals)
Nominal B-team (at various times Anant, Cameron, Erik, Greg, Leaf, Matt, Quint, Sarah plus starters): 35-28 in matches over 7 tournaments (including nationals)

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