Out of the six Academic Superbowl squads, only the science squad will be advancing to the State competition on May 4. While Academic Superbowl head coach Matt Dillon noted that “all the teams seemed relatively well prepared and generally performed well,” the science squad performed especially well, placing second overall at the Regional competition.

According to Rushvi Desai, science squad captain and senior, the science squad is “busily in the process of preparing for the upcoming competition in May.” However, Desai noted that with two rounds of invitational competition and the regional competition under their belt, both she and her fellow science squad members feel well prepared for the final challenge.

“First of all, going to State is prestigious, just as it is in any other academic competition or sport,” Desai said. “Also, there’s nothing wrong with bringing another trophy back to Carmel. By the first competition, my team will be ready. We have had consistent practices that are not only rigorous, but also that spark motivation in the teammates to do well this season for a sense of extracurricular achievement and pride in their hard work.”

Desai also noted that the three competitions the science squad has participated in thus far highlighted some holes in their team’s collective information. According to both Desai and Dillon, many of the questions used in the regional competition were a great deal more difficult than in the local competitions.

“The questions were of a much higher level this time. We did not see the same scores that we did the first time, which is very normal, and really shows the prestige of the science squad’s accomplishment. As we get closer and closer to the big competition, the questions get a lot more specific and a lot harder. But, I have faith that they will prepare themselves as needed,” Dillon said.

Likewise, Desai said, “What we need to focus on, really, is that no matter who is up there competing, they need to make sure that they have all their bases covered, and that they have an expertise in each of those little subsets of information.”