Varsity Science Bowl team picks key freshmen

Science Bowl members think they will be more competitive this year because the team is stronger in subjects like biology, chemistry and earth science, not just math and physics.

The second round of tryouts occurred Sept. 18, resulting in a team with seniors Anthony Ding, Chengzi Guo, Rahul Kumar and Michael Xue; juniors Joseph Li, Nathan Luk and Michael Zhang; sophomore Jeffrey Xu; and freshmen Rohan Kumar and Akshar Sarvesh.

The addition of many new members to the team brings additional knowledge to the table within the various subtopics in science.

As just one example, Kumar has self-studied biology in the past, before taking the Biology class at school. Also, Sarvesh has learned some chemistry and physics when he attended BASIS Independent last year.  

Ding said that the addition of Kumar and Sarvesh will also be good for future years.

For his part, Kumar said he enjoys the thrill of buzzing in to answer questions. With speed just as important as accuracy, Kumar has to focus and respond to science problems instinctively.

“I think Science Bowl is the most fun thing in my schedule right now, so I’m excited to attend the practices,” Kumar said.

This year, the Science Bowl regional competition will take place on Feb. 3 at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center Laboratory.

The A team, which consists of the top five members, will be decided in late December or early January, Ding said. This way, members will have a semester of practice time for the upcoming competition and placement.

According to Ding, members of the A, B, and development teams have been attending practices more regularly than in previous years.

“Overall, we’re more committed this year and we hope to perform well at the official competition,” Ding said.