MS quiz bowl sends 2 teams to National Championship
University School of Nashville's Middle School quiz bowl team wrapped up its season with a strong showing against the nation's best over a two-day tournament in Chicago.
By Richard Rosenthal, MS Latin Teacher & Quiz Bowl Coach and Christine Park, Eighth Grade English Teacher
Ayla Acra '27, Basil Broemel '28, Liam Mooney '28, and Ruchika Ramachandran '27 got USN off to a great start by winning their first match while Charlie Blau '27, Lucia Gellert '27, Karsen Puzniak '27, and Aaron Raney '27 had a first-round bye. When the two teams met up for lunch, they discovered they had enjoyed enormous success, with both teams going 3-1. NAQT rewards this success by giving the teams increasingly difficult competition in the afternoon and both teams ended the first day at 4-4. Against such stiff competition, it is impressive to go 4-4. To have two teams go 4-4 from our school demonstrates the extraordinary depth of the USN's Middle School team.
The teams continued their success on the second day. When they were reunited they discovered that both teams had gone 3-1. The players thank the many parents who joined them, helped keep them fed, cheered their many fast buzzes.
The Quiz Bowl team traveled to Bowling Green, Kentucky, to face several top teams from across the country at this year's South Warren Tournament. USN's second-place finish earned the team an invitation to the National Academic Quiz Tournaments' National Championships in May.
In an inspiring new initiative, USN's health care career spotlight, organized by Ruchika Ramachandran ’27 and Yvonne Wang ’27, brought a wealth of alumni back to the school for an evening of shared expertise and personal stories. This first-of-its-kind event was a great example of the power of connection, mentorship, and community evident throughout the USN community.
Ahead of the All Bands Winter Concert, students got to play for Larry Clark, the composer who arranged the holiday medley that the band will perform at 7 p.m. Tuesday, December 9 in Durnan Auditorium.
USN Mission: University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.