Feb 27 - The junior varsity scholastic bowl team of Naperville North High School won a closely contested final conference meet at Glenbard East Thursday, matching up with a strong performance throughout the year to end the season in 1st place with a record of 10:1.

Leading the team to victory were ever powerful captain Felix (Jr.), and the knowledgeable Priya (So.). Other key players were Jon (So.), Anubhav (Jr.)--also participating were Alex (Jr), Yilin (So.), and Rohit (Jr). Presiding over the team was NNHS coach, Mrs. John.

The largely successful season cumulated in a powerful face-off against DVC rival and historical champion Wheaton North.

Our Multi-Cultural North Support Spirit

The first game of the meet Thursday was against no-contest cross town rival Naperville Central. NCHS who had a strong team and a powerful performance in the 2002 season was faced with fewer players and a stronger JV opponent and failed to muster anything beyond spirit in this year's season and went home with another, final loss to end with a record of 0:8. Attributed to this was the promotion of several key players to the varsity team, contributing to NCHS's deft victory over the NNHS varsity team, and poor "press first, think later" tactics. NNHS initially commanded a huge lead (75 to 0 at one point) over their opponent, however the Red Hawks managed to claw their way up by half-time. However, consistent performance by NNHS led to a victory by a clear margin of at least 100 points. Good sportsmanship characterized both Naperville teams as they shook hands after the one sided performance.

The second game played against home team Wheaton Warrenville South was a much closer match and though WWS made several jumps up the scoreboard NNHS still won a strong victory.

The final game against Wheaton North was an absolute tour de force on part of both teams each showing equaled knowledge, and victory only through the combination of circumstances. In a previous game this season, Wheaton North had deftly "kicked the asses" of the NNHS team by over 150 points¹. In this game, practically EVERY POINT COUNTED. The Falcons dominated the first quarter by a demoralizing lead as the Huskies let slip several easy toss ups and the following bonuses to swift fingered Devin (Fr.) and captain Jim (?). Behind by nearly 80 points, a subtle change in tactics ensued, utilizing "press first, think later" gamble tactics employed by the opponent. The gamble paid off as Huskies clawed their way up to a seemingly safe lead by the end of the 2nd quarter. A threatening fumble on Alex's part ("I'm really sorry!!") lost 12 potential points when he returned a work paper with answers to Felix, but was then deferred to. (Had the team lost because of this, he would have been really pissed at fate). A series of misses 3rd quarter lost the lead, and by 4th quarter, both teams were locked in a nerve-wracking showdown swapping leads of the narrowest margins.

Any one of the final five questions could have made the game--North had held onto a tiny lead until after the final question (#30). The Falcons had won the toss up, for ten points, and gotten the 1 bonus question; both teams were tied at 247 points.

"We never said we wanted a close game," joked the moderator from Wheaton North. At this point, the spectators from Wheaton North were holding hands, and perhaps looking up to some superior deity -- tensions could not have been higher for a schol-bowl meet, and no more value could be placed on this one question.

Naperville North only needed to answer any one of the four remaining bonus questions to break the tie and seal victory...

"And Harlem Renaissance does it!" said the moderator, with a tone of slight regret as the NNHS crowd burst into cheers and hurrah.

"I think that last game took a couple years off my life," said Coach John.

Naperville North High School, JV Team... DVC Champions.

Each JV team member was awarded a T-shirt, and perhaps later a medal--but the victory itself is truly the greatest feeling (in spite of my near fatal  mistake). If you see the man pictured here--give him a BIG 'congrats' and a good luck in the upcoming varsity regional competition.

Copyright © 2003  Angelex

ADDITION (wherever in the story it'll fit):

Notably absent from this meet was Sophomore David Yang, who was at ARML American Regions Math League.

"He is with us in spirit," said Felix, holding David's name card. David's contributions to the season cannot be overlooked, and his absence at the final meet placed extra burdens on the remaining players, but also, a renewed sense of importance.

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