Naples High School takes All-Europe Academic Bowl
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HAMBACHTAL, Germany — The questions ran the gamut, touching on subjects ranging from the Dutch West Indies and Charles Dickens to Chicago politics and classical composers.
In the end, however, Naples American High School chalked up more correct answers than Brussels American High School to claim the annual All-Europe Academic Bowl. The final score was 135-90.
“We didn’t expect to win,” said an elated Phillip Davis, a 17-year-old senior and the Naples co-captain.
Maybe not, but the four-member Naples team just about aced the two-day competition, losing only to Ramstein High School in pool play on Thursday, said event organizer Ray Smola.
The 24 teams that took part in the Department of Defense Dependents Schools event were divided into four pools Thursday for round-robin play, meaning each team played the other five teams in its bracket. The two top teams from each pool advanced to Friday’s double-elimination.
Naples made it through Friday’s series of matches unscathed, while Brussels worked its way through the “losers” bracket. Brussels made it into Friday’s championship by winning an exceptionally close match against Ramstein, 115-110.
Each match is split into two, 10-minute halves. Correct answers are worth 10 points, with the opportunity at times to earn five bonus points on answers.
Provided by the folks who oversee the College Bowl or “Brain Bowl,” as some people call it, some of the questions are quickly dispatched with, coming down to which team is quicker on the buzzer. Some questions are down-right head-scratchers, such as: “What powerful Peloponnesian city-state was the capital of Laconia?” “What is the more common name for cryogenic soil?” “What non-negative angle that is less than 360 degrees is coterminal with a -20 degree angle?”
While the Brussels team said they were disappointed they couldn’t take home the trophy, they were pleased with taking second after finishing fourth last year. After a couple of close games, junior Abigail Sterns, 16, said she thought the final would follow suit.
“We were expecting it to be a little bit closer,” Abigail said.
She was joined on the team by fellow junior Jessica Vahrenhorst, 16, freshman Joseph Rudy, 14, and sophomore Aidan McAloon, 16.
McAloon was named co-Most Valuable Player of the tournament with Naples’ senior and co-captain Nikka Malakooti, 16.
“We had experience and good people on the team,” she said.
doughertyk@estripes.osd.mil
