Contestant Robert Bougazelli ’21 answers question for the senior team. Photo by Aadit Pande.
Tuesday at 1 p.m., students gathered in the Blue Gym to compete in Quiz Bowl, an intense trivia competition. Due to Covid procedures, the Quiz Bowl was not held in the Dining Hall Commons this year, and only selected advisors were allowed to view the competition from the Blue Gym, while others viewed via livestream. However, the precautions did not stop the high energy and school spirit. Upper School contestants – teams consisting of six people per grade – answered questions related to the topics: Quakerism, Philly sports, Clichés, Disney Movie Titles, Random Questions, and MFS Faculty.
First on the scoreboard was the senior class with 500 points in the Random Questions category. In the first few rounds the seniors, sophomores, and freshmen pulled ahead of the juniors in points.
Finally, the juniors got on the scoreboard when Peter Tummarello ’22 answered a question in the Philly Sports category correctly. “I felt very confident in my knowledge of Philly sports and that that would give us an advantage,” Tummarello commented.
Mr. Miller reads a questions to the crowd. Photo by Aadit Pande.
After winning a few rounds in a row, it was clear the juniors were starting to take the lead. Following the six categories, Final Jeopardy began with the juniors at 2800 points, the freshmen and seniors tied at 1200 points, and the sophomores at -500 points.
The final question, which asked the students to name the ninth head of school at MFS, stumped all the teams. The seniors, juniors, and freshmen all answered incorrectly and the sophomores did not have a chance to respond because of their negative points. Contestant Andrew Mercantini ’23 explained, “Quizbowl didn’t go our way this year. We lost as a team and that’s all good.”
The juniors won Quiz Bowl with 2799 points, high above the freshman who scored 400 points, the seniors with 50 points, and the sophomores with -500 points.
Disappointed by their loss, Robert Bougazelli ’21 commented, “[It] could have gone better. The buzzers messed us up a lot because it took us some time to realize they were delayed.”
The intensity displayed at Quiz Bowl is only a preview for the rest of spirit week.
Quiz Bowl Teams:
Seniors: Kayla Patel, Om Patil, Robert Bougazelli, Andrew Gray, Brent Cohen, Lauren Kam
Juniors: Roma Jha, Lila Smith, Peter Tummarello, Aani Desai, Jordan Grabelle, Dante Neri
Sophomores: Vanya Weinstock, Andrew Mercantini, Esha Patel, Julianna Banfe, Sara Mitchell, Daniel Sorokin
Freshmen: Himanshu Sahore, Avani Verma, Nicholas Caputo, Isabella Didie, Alicia Leung, Tara Esposito
Quiz Bowl Results:
- Juniors: 2799
- Freshmen: 400
- Seniors: 50
- Sophomores: -500
