2008 NAQT Qualifier (15 Mar 08 @ St. Joseph's)

Adams Emerges as Contender

South Bend Adams has always had a solid quiz bowl program, but they have kept a low profile across the state. But no more... the Eagles have taken off.

Because most of their varsity players were unavailable in the morning due to a science fair, Adams was overlooked at the start of the tournament, and in fact were seeded as a B team for the pairings. But the squad soon served notice that they were a force, and when a key player joined the team at the lunch break, they proved to be unstoppable.

This was not without some cutthroat competition. Culver Academies fielded two teams, and both were on a roll all day. Culver's A team was nearly undefeated through the Allied bracket, nipped in their only loss by a plucky St. Joseph's B team. Culver's B team went 6-1 through the Axis bracket, losing only to the St. Joe A team, but also downing the always-tough Harrison A team. St. Joe, meanwhile, was the only undefeated team in the preliminary rounds, but even they had to survive a scare against Harrison, winning the head-to-head match by the slimmest of margins. The tournament was rounded out by newcomers Shelbyville and Valparaiso, and the always cheerful Pioneer team.

The tournament came down to two semifinal matches: Culver Academies' two teams played each other on one side, with the predicted result; St. Joe and Adams had a grueling best-of-three match on the other side, won by the latter. Even though the day was already considerably long by this time, the two finalists then agreed to play a marathon best-of-three full games. Adams kept the upper hand throughout two matches, and the title was theirs.