Quiz Bowl post wins against Virginia Tech, University of Virginia

Liberty Quiz Bowl Team A (from left) Jon Bateman, Doug Stephens, Abbie Brubaker, and Greta Hanks. .

Liberty University’s six-time Big South Conference champion Quiz Bowl team is off to a strong start this season, after posting victories over two Atlantic Coast Conference schools — Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia — in its first tournament of the season Saturday, Sept. 29, at Virginia Tech.

Liberty had two teams compete in several rounds of the tournament, winning four games in all, including two over Virginia Tech and their first-ever win over UVA. Liberty’s A-team finished in sixth position with a record of 4-5, while Liberty B finished at No. 8 with no wins and seven losses.

Two Liberty players, Doug Stephens and Jon Bateman, finished in the top 10 for individual scoring.

Quiz Bowl has been called “the varsity sport of the mind.” Players answer a variety of questions on literature, history, geography, government, the sciences, math, art, popular culture, and sports. Games consist of two 10-minute halves.

Dr. Jim Nutter, Liberty’s coach, said Quiz Bowl is similar to “Jeopardy,” “but with much harder questions, where we compete in teams of four against other colleges.”

Last year Liberty won its sixth Big South Conference championship in seven years and finished 9-2 in the sectional tournament.

The Quiz Bowl team is part of Liberty’s rigorous Honors Program. This year the team has several returning members along with seven National Merit Finalists on full academic scholarship added to their two novice teams with players from a variety of majors.

The team is scheduled to compete at the University of Maryland on Oct. 14 and at the University of Virginia on Nov. 3.

• View statistics from the tournament.

Liberty’s wins

Liberty 365, UVA 205

Liberty 320, Virginia Tech 145

Liberty 285, Virginia Tech 270