Harvard Wins Trivia Competition

A Harvard College Bowl team on Saturday won the fifth annual Terrier Tussle, a trivia competition hosted by Boston University.

Harvard's team, "Dogs Playing Poker," was one of 25 teams from 11 schools, including Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, MIT, and Yale, that competed in the invitational tournament.

Questions covered a wide array of topics including current events, science, literature, history, popular culture, sports, geography and social science.

Team member Matthew L. Bruce '96 said one of the most interesting questions came in the form of a game of charades.

"One person had to act out a word; another held his breath as the timekeeper; another translated into French, German, or Spanish; and another person guessed what it was," Bruce said.

Led by captain Jordan A. Katine, a physics graduate student, and lead scorer Mark C. Staloff '98, Harvard's top team finished 10-1 in one round-robin bracket, second only to an undefeated Cornell team.

It defeated Cornell's other team in the quarterfinals, followed by a thrilling 255-250 semifinal win over Harvard's "Dogs of War," and a 280-205 final victory over Penn.

Other members of "Dogs Playing Poker" are Cyrus C. M. Mody '97 and Gilbert D. Collins '96.

Harvard "Dogs of War" finished 11-1 in its round robin bracket, losing only to fellow Harvard team "Dog Day Afternoon."

"Dog Day Afternoon" finished 10-2 in the round robin before falling to Cornell in the quarterfinals.

Two other Harvard teams, "Dog Hammarskjold" and "Dog-Eat-Dog World," also competed.

"Dogs Playing Poker" sealed its final win against Penn by correctly identifying 1995 San Francisco may-oral candidates Willie Brown, Frank Jordan and Roberta Achtenberg from brief clues given about each.

Harvard competes in five or six invitationals each year.

Last year Harvard won the national championship.