Quiz Bowl team scores big wins in fall tournaments

Liberty University’s Quiz Bowl teams finished play for the fall semester after performing well at three tournaments, claiming victories over Duke, UNC, Tennessee, and William and Mary.

To begin competition this semester, the team traveled to the University of North Carolina Oct. 15 for the 2022 ACF Fall tournament. Liberty’s varsity team performed well on the day, picking up seven wins and placing second overall. These included victories over Duke’s varsity team (UG) (410-80) and B team (580-35), as well as UNC’s varsity team (UG) (430-100) and C team (380-130).

Liberty’s Aleah Schrock finished with a tournament-high 620 points and a 62 points-per-game average.

Quiz Bowl members next traveled to James Madison University on Nov. 5 for the ACF Winter Tournament, where the varsity team finished second in its bracket with a 6-4 record on the day. Notable victories included wins over William and Mary’s B Team (335-45), Duke’s B team (240-205), and UNC’s B team (240-220) and C team (220-100).

Perry O’Conner for Liberty finished the tournament with 510 points and 51 points-per-game to earn sixth overall.

Fall semester competition concluded with the NAQT Novice Tournament at Tusculum University. Liberty’s Novice A team finished with an impressive 7-3 record, with two losses (65-535, 110-500) against a Virginia Tech team that went undefeated on the day.

Joshua Schmidt led the way for Liberty with a contribution of 390 points (39 ppg.), the highest for a true freshman in the tournament. Schmidt joined fellow Liberty students Derek Works and Murray Callan on the all-tournament team.

Liberty finished the fall with a total of 29 wins from the three different tiers of teams in the three tournaments and will resume competition Jan. 28 in the ACF Regionals.

Quiz Bowl, often called “the varsity sport of the mind,” is part of Liberty’s rigorous Honors Program and includes players from a variety of majors. Competitions resemble the game show “Jeopardy!,” with teams buzzing in to answer questions on literature, history, geography, government, the sciences, math, art, popular culture, and sports.