PennBowl matches college quiz kids

With questions like "Who spoke the last line in Hamlet?" this year's PennBowl was a playfully eclectic intellectual affair that went off without a hitch. The answer to the Hamlet question, by the way: Fortinbras. PennBowl, now in its 10th year, brings teams from approximately 70 colleges nationwide to Penn for what has become the largest collegiate academic competition in the country. Graduate and undergraduate students compete on a playing field ripe with questions drawn from varying fields. University of Michigan defeated Princeton University with a final score of 325 to 235. Underdog Michigan jumped to a 75-point lead over Princeton, which has been a front-running team since the PennBowl's inception. Yale University, last year's winner, got knocked out early in the competition -- failing to reach the semifinals, according to officials. Following the preliminary rounds of PennBowl, which took place on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon, the PennBowl semifinals -- held in Logan Hall -- came down to a tight competition, with Michigan inching out MIT and Princeton defeating Penn State. Although both teams wowed the audience with knowledge of subjects ranging from Jennifer Love Hewitt to Guatemalan urbanology, one competitor outshone the rest. The victory was especially sweet for Michigan championship team member Michael Davidson, a senior. "We beat a lot of quality teams. PennBowl is hard to win. We knew from the start that Princeton would be very good... it was hard fought," Davidson said. Davidson was not the only one smiling. "It's a great sense of achievement," Michigan graduate student and team member Adam Kemezis said. Even the losing teams came away with some sense of accomplishment. "In spite of losing, I was able to learn about all different types of material," said Eric Owens, a History graduate student at Witchita State University. The Student Activities Council sponsored the event. Several PennBowl participants were veterans of Jeopardy! and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, according to Education graduate student Kelly Affannato, a member of Penn's team.

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