Ithaca Fall IX Recap

The leaves are falling, the clocks have turned back, and the sound of New Jersey's quizbowl teams qualifying for nationals is in the air. On Saturday, 36 teams attended Ithaca Fall, including 16 from New Jersey--Let's see how they did!

High Tech: High Tech once again sent three teams to the tournament, with High Tech A and B making the championship brackets. Led by Max Brodsky's 66 PPG and Deepak Gopalakrishnan's 55 PPG (good for 6th and 14th in the field), High Tech A finished third at the tournament, losing only to eventual champion Hunter A in playoffs. Their tournament was marked by dominating victories, including multiple playoff games where the team cleared 600 points. High Tech B put up a solid 34 powers en route to a 9th place finish. They finished 1-4 in a tough playoff bracket, but ended the day on a high note with a 380-220 victory over Hunter C. Ayush Bobra led the team in scoring with 45 PPG, while Shashwat Tewari added 31 PPG of his own on a 60% powerrate. High Tech C had a difficult morning, going 1-4 before bouncing back with a 3-2 record in playoffs to finish 4-6. Sharabh Ojha led the team with 43 PPG.

Livingston:

Livingston fielded a full A team for the first time since October, and finished 5th with close losses to Ridgewood A, Phillips Exeter and Hunter B, who finished sixth, fourth, and second in the tournament. The team finished with a 7-3 record led by Carolyn Meng's 66 PPG and lit specialist Rosa Xia's 42 PPG. Livingston B finished a solid 3-2 in the preliminary brackets before enduring a winless afternoon session. They were once again led by freshmen Akshaya Shankar and Nishna Makala, who finished with 30 PPG and 14 PPG.

Ridgewood:

Ridgewood A took the final nationals qualification, finishing with a 7-3 record that featured victories over Livingston A and Belmont A. Aum Mundhe led the team with an incredible 97.5 PPG (second overall), and finished with just 3 negs over the tournament, while Aiden Dartley added 46.5 PPG of his own.

Ridgewood B featured a soloing Nick Pruitt, who finished with 91 PPG. He finished a respectable 5-5, going 3-2 in playoffs while losing close games to both Hunter and High Tech C in prelims and playoffs respectively.

JP Stevens: JP Stevens A was led by Allen Wang's 54.5 PPG en route to a 7th place finish, just short of a nationals qualification. The team finished 2-3 in a difficult playoffs bracket, losing a close game to Livingston A in the process, but is on the upswing in the early stages of their return to the quizbowl circuit.

JP Stevens B finished 5-5 behind Rajeev Atla's 64 PPG, with their two losses in playoffs coming by a total of 55 points. The team put up a respectable 17.87 PPB for the day. JP Stevens C finished 2-3 in the toughest preliminary bracket, which featured three teams with over 20 PPB. Geetika Kaul led the team with 24 PPG, while Neel Shelwalker put up an impressive 41% powerrate.

Edison: Edison A, led by Yash Mandavia's 65.5 PPG and Ali Ahmed's 40 PPG, finished 3-2 in both sessions en route to a 6-4 record. Their afternoon losses were close, and the team showed potential for the upcoming season.

Edison B and C fared less well as both teams endured winless mornings, but bounced back with 3-2 and 2-3 records in playoffs. Edison B featured balanced scoring between their three players, but were led by Agastya Kalagarla's 28.5 PPG. Edison C was led by Devam Mondal's 31 PPG.

Marlboro's Arjun Kodialum led the team to a 4-6 record as the team finished 3-2 in prelims before going 1-3 in playoffs. The team had an impressive 21.5 PPB, higher than multiple teams that made the championship brackets.

West Windsor Plainsboro North sent three teams, with WWP A leading the field with 100 10s. A tough morning in a difficult prelims bracket was followed by a strong 4-1 performance in playoffs. Edward Simon Cruz led the A team in scoring.

WWP B finished 5-5, going undefeated in playoffs and outpowering their A team. Panav Gala led the team with 41 PPG.

WWP C was led in scoring by Arthi Venkatakrishnan, who had 45 PPG. The team had a rough morning in the most difficult prelim bracket, but bounced back with a win and several close losses in playoffs.

Thank you to Ithaca for hosting an incredibly smooth and well-run tournament, and congratulations to all the nationals qualifiers! Full stats can be found here. The next tournament in the Northeast will be JP Stevens' Hawk's Nest tournament. More information can be found here.

Happy Thanksgiving, and have a safe and happy start to the holiday season from NJQBA!