The Norfolk Collegiate Quiz Bowl team has advanced to the quarter finals of the "Battle of the Brains" competition with a win over Powhatan High School that aired on Dec. 10.

What makes for a perfect Quiz Bowl team?  A well-rounded team. Their coach, Mr. White, said each member should be able to answer difficult questions under pressure and be versatile, fun, outgoing and able to get along with other team members.   

Junior Mark Jamias, the Quiz Bowl team captain, is a quiz bowl generalist.  Ever since Mark was little he thrived in history classes, and many of his classmates can remember him on the Norfolk Collegiate lower school news, enlightening them with his knowledge of geography.  “My interest wasn’t really sparked [by quiz bowl]," Mark said. "The opportunity just came to me, and I took it."

Senior Robert Abramov uses his knowledge in math and science.  “We tried to get a good spread,”he said,  a versatile team that would be able to reach the goal of getting to the quarter finals.  Robert said that the team works very hard preparing for their matches. Studying on the bus right before the match keeps all of the material fresh in their minds.

Hannah Sacks, an eleventh grader, enjoys all aspects of Quiz Bowl.  “Ever since I was young, I would watch Jeopardy with my family,” she said.   Hannah is studying hard to prepare for their next match against Maury High School, but she said the school to beat is Maggie Walker, a Richmond team that is on a powerful winning streak.  Hannah hopes to be a Quiz Bowl all-star so that she can receive a scholarship to college.

Mr. White, the Quiz Bowl coach, was the captain of the Iowa State University Quiz Bowl team that won its conference four years in a row.  Outside of school, he also was the captain of a championship intramural team. 

The team will take on Maury High School in January.