Sophomore Takes 2nd on 'Jeopardy!'

More than 20 close friends gathered last night for "Vandana Night IV" to watch Leverett House's Vandana L. Madhavan '98 finish her appearance on the 1996 "Jeopardy!" College Tournament.

After a second night of battling students from the University of Arkansas and Southwest Missouri State, Madhavan placed second, accumulating over $21,000.

"I was completely satisfied with how I did," Madhavan said yesterday.

The Final Jeopardy question from the category "Twentieth Century Americans" determined the outcome of the competition.

The answer:

"In 1941 and 1942, he served as a photo-muralist for the Department of the Interior."

Madhavan responded with ease: "Who is Ansel Adams?"

Her competitors also answered correctly, however. At the end of the game, the student from Arkansas walked away with the trophy and a new Volvo, leaving Madhavan in second place.

Madhavan said she got more out of the tournament than the $21,000, some of which she plans to donate to her high school and several charities.

She said "meeting people and making more friends" were some of the greatest benefits she received from the tournament.

Since her junior year in high school, Madhavan has been actively pursuing a chance to be on "Jeopardy!", but her postcard was not picked at random until this past summer.

As the first step in the selection process, she joined more than 1,200 students in New York City last fall to take a written test.

Based on the results, about 10 percent of the students played a mock Jeopardy game. Only 15 students were eventually invited to appear in the tournament.

In December, Madhavan received a call from her parents, who relayed the message that she had been chosen. She said she was "flabbergasted to be on 'Jeopardy.'"

Madhavan said the tournament itself was "fun and just a game."

She said she was nervous only right before she walked on stage, but the butterflies soon vanished when the matches began.

In the quarterfinal round, Madhavan also placed second behind her fellow finalist from Arkansas, but she earned enough points to give her the first wild-card position.

The semifinal match was a little more challenging. Expecting defeat in Final Jeopardy, Madhavan wrote a "hello" message to her brother on the answer screen along with the answer.

But when she was the only contestant to answer the question correctly, the result was a "surprising and really cool" victory.

Although she said some contestants took the competition too seriously, Madhavan had a great experience meeting new people.

"It was a neat thing to have in common, being on 'Jeopardy!' together," she said.

Madhavan did have a few complaints about the program. The main problem was that "Alex Trebek kept mispronouncing my name."

Madhavan said she has become something of a "mini-celebrity" after her appearance.

E-mail messages from "Jeopardy!" viewers, commenting on her intelligence and beauty, flood her inbox. She also said she's received a steady stream of congratulatory cans over the past few days.

Despite this recent attention, Madhavan feels most people will forget her "Jeopardy!" experience soon, but she will have great memories forever.

"It's a nice thing to look back on and I will always have a bond with the other contestants," she said

As the first step in the selection process, she joined more than 1,200 students in New York City last fall to take a written test.

Based on the results, about 10 percent of the students played a mock Jeopardy game. Only 15 students were eventually invited to appear in the tournament.

In December, Madhavan received a call from her parents, who relayed the message that she had been chosen. She said she was "flabbergasted to be on 'Jeopardy.'"

Madhavan said the tournament itself was "fun and just a game."

She said she was nervous only right before she walked on stage, but the butterflies soon vanished when the matches began.

In the quarterfinal round, Madhavan also placed second behind her fellow finalist from Arkansas, but she earned enough points to give her the first wild-card position.

The semifinal match was a little more challenging. Expecting defeat in Final Jeopardy, Madhavan wrote a "hello" message to her brother on the answer screen along with the answer.

But when she was the only contestant to answer the question correctly, the result was a "surprising and really cool" victory.

Although she said some contestants took the competition too seriously, Madhavan had a great experience meeting new people.

"It was a neat thing to have in common, being on 'Jeopardy!' together," she said.

Madhavan did have a few complaints about the program. The main problem was that "Alex Trebek kept mispronouncing my name."

Madhavan said she has become something of a "mini-celebrity" after her appearance.

E-mail messages from "Jeopardy!" viewers, commenting on her intelligence and beauty, flood her inbox. She also said she's received a steady stream of congratulatory cans over the past few days.

Despite this recent attention, Madhavan feels most people will forget her "Jeopardy!" experience soon, but she will have great memories forever.

"It's a nice thing to look back on and I will always have a bond with the other contestants," she said