Quiz Bowl team shines on the national stage

By Justin DeSantis, HS Quiz Bowl Faculty Advisor

University School of Nashville sent three teams to the Small School National Championship in Chicago in late April. After years of countless hours of targeted preparation masterminded by team coach Eric Mukherjee, M.D., Ph.D., the A and B teams were both strong teams with many experienced upperclassmen, while the C team was a building team of mostly freshmen.

A team: Lucia Gellert ’27, Jackson Green ’26, Mason Lack ’26, and Liam Mooney ’28.

B team: Eva Choe ’26, Evan Giles ’26, Emma Horwitz ’26, Karsen Puzniak ’27, and Arlo Williamson ’28.

C team: Charlie Blau ’27, Clio Cherry-Pulay ’29, Adele O’Malley ’29, and Syra Tahiliani ’29.

All teams played well, with the A and B teams making terrific playoff runs to ultimately finish third and fifth, respectively. The third-place finish at the tournament is the best result in USN Quiz Bowl history, and having two teams in the top 5 is also a new USN record. 

In the double-elimination playoffs, both the A and B teams lost only to each other, and Park Tudor A (of Indiana), which went undefeated for the entire tournament.

Day 1 - pool play: teams need to go at least 6-4 to advance to the playoffs.

A team had a few close matches but ultimately went undefeated 10-0 to earn the fourth seed in the playoffs.

B team went 9-1, losing a back-and-forth battle on the last question to earn the 13 seed in the playoffs.

C team went 1-9 and did not qualify for the playoffs. However, they gained momentum as the day progressed, putting up respectable scores against strong teams, picking up a big win, and even managing to take 100 points against Park Tudor A, the 1 seed. Charlie provided crucial leadership and a calming presence, helping the ninth graders overcome the intimidation of national championship-level competition. By the end of the day, everyone had found at least a few times to shine.

Day 2 - double elimination playoffs bracket

Both the A team and B team won their first match of the day, and unfortunately, the way the seedings ended up, we were looking at a familiar matchup: USN A vs. USN B.

While the A team was the favorite, the B team was also a powerhouse, certainly capable of pulling off an upset. Emma had a particularly good round, and the B team won its first match in a back-and-forth battle.

The B team won its third match, setting up a fourth-round showdown with the buzz saw that is Park Tudor A, which proved too much to overcome. Now, both teams had moved to the single-elimination side of the bracket.

The B team won its next match, and the A team won three consecutive matches to put both teams at 4-1 on the day, entering the quarterfinals, and guess what the quarterfinals matchup was?

It was certainly a bit unfortunate that both teams kept ending up on the same side of the bracket. This time, the A team pulled through with a balanced performance in which all players were significant contributors, ending the B team’s run at fifth place.

In the semifinals, it was the A team’s turn to take a shot against Park Tudor A. This semifinal was live-streamed on the main stage of the grand ballroom. The A team put up a good fight, giving Park Tudor A their closest game of the tournament, but were ultimately defeated. Some USN parents commented on the bleak outlook for the Park Tudor matches, “This is how the other schools must feel when they play against USN.”

This was the A team’s second loss, so they, too, were eliminated. However, for making it to the semifinals, the A team was awarded a final match to play for third place. They won this match convincingly.

At the end of the day, the Quiz Bowl team took two trophies back to Nashville this year, the third place one large enough that we needed to disassemble it to fly it back.

Liam Mooney took home an individual Rising Star award for being among the top 10 individual scorers amongst ninth and 10th-graders.

The fact that both teams did so well with only one individual award is a testament to the fact that Dr. Mukherjee has built a team in the truest sense of the word. The success of the team is a group effort as opposed to one or two exceptional individuals, which instills confidence in the long-term health of the team.