The senior high quiz bowl team competed in the 7A state championships live on TV and won, beating Rogers Heritage 380 to 180.
Even though the team was ranked number one, they were nervous since they hadn’t played their strongest competitor yet. The team practiced twice a week getting in as many practice rounds as possible.
Captain of the quiz bowl team, Bhavana has had a fun experience meeting lots of new people throughout her years on the team. She has also had the chance to play with her younger brother Siddarth Sridharan during her last year on the team.
“Whenever we’re in our closest games, Sidd really pulls through in those moments. He starts clutching up and gets questions back to back.
When being close in a game, he does this and I slowly start to relieve all the stress that I have from it. The actual moments we have as a team outside of competing are the most fun and enjoyable moments. Whenever we’re eating dinner, back on the bus, or just the small moments. Bringing the trophy is always the best feeling,” said Bhavana.
However, being captain of the quiz bowl team is difficult to handle as Bhavana is a highly academic and school-involved student.
“We can go to competitions every week and everything but there’s like a lot of paperwork, a lot of prepping and everything to do with the team and like just outside of quiz bowl time,” says Bhavana.
Siddarth Sridharan, Bhavana’s younger brother will miss his sister and will remember the many memories that they had as siblings on quiz bowl together.
“It’s definitely a significant loss for the team. She’s done a lot behind the scenes that nobody really knows of. One of the most memorable moments I would say is a collection of moments but my sister as captain and me being on the team with her. We had a streak of 7 tournament wins in a row ranging from all the way from October to February so I feel like under her captainship, the guidance, the support, the confidence that she provided for herself and her team is just outstanding,” Siddarth said.
Venkata Bhrugubanda is another Senior on quiz bowl who has enjoyed his time playing for three years and will miss the team.
“It’s grown a lot in those three years. The quiz bowl team has done really well and has been very active this year. We have gone to a lot of competitions every Saturday. It’s very involved, very fun, and you build a great community,” Venkata said.
Venkata also has a sibling on the senior high team with him and he enjoys being there and seeing her play.
“Since Venkata and I are both in senior high together, we go to the same competitions, it’s fun to talk about if we got the same answers for questions correctly,” said Srinitya Bhrugubanda.
The quiz bowl team celebrated the state by having a pizza party on Thursday, May 9. As the seniors of Quizbowl are wrapping up their year on the team, most of them are very happy for how it ended with them winning state.