THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, April 3, 1995 TAG: 9504030039
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KIA MORGAN ALLEN, CAMPUS CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines
Norfolk State University's academic drill team advanced to the championship round of the Honda Campus All-Star Challenge on Sunday by defeating the University of the District of Columbia.
NSU will now vie for a chance to win up to $50,000 during the final competition in Los Angeles May 19 to 23.
The tournament, in its sixth year, is designed to help bolster the academic reputations of the nation's 117 historically black colleges and universities, only 64 of which qualify for the competition. Sunday's round was held at G.W.C. Brown Memorial Hall on the NSU campus.
NSU's victory came after a bitter loss earlier in the day to arch rival Howard University, which also advanced to the finals.
``I'm elated,'' said Nellie Boyd, NSU head coach and associate professor of English. ``With the victory, students worked very hard and devoted several hours per week in preparation for this event. I feel like their hard work has really paid off.''
The win brings NSU a step closer to another national championship. Their last was in 1992.
After three days of restrained mental composure, the NSU scholars could hardly contain their exuberance Sunday.
With a huge grin, Alan Augustson, the newest NSU team member, gushed, ``It ain't top gun, but we're going (to the nationals). We knew we were going to have to go against UDC again and that was the scariest thing of the whole weekend.''
Robert Jacks gave teammate Clarence Tucker a high five while other members jumped out of their seats cheering.
``For some reason we always come out on top,'' said Joshua Hall, a veteran team member.
Last weekend, the team outlasted 16 others in the sectional playoffs, also at NSU. The competition for the qualifying rounds began on March 30.
The competition has the tone of the ``Jeopardy'' game show in which answers are given in the form of a question. Each session lasts 14 minutes. Only four students on each team compete in the tournament.
Approximately 150 students and faculty members attended the event, which was moderated by Anthony Jemison. Jemison read questions and team members sounded buzzers to answer.
Tucker said he felt the team's hard work paid off. He and his teammates had practiced at least three days a week to prepare for competition.
``I'm ready for the next go round,'' Tucker said smiling. ILLUSTRATION: NORFOLK STATE UNIVERSITY photo
The team members include, clockwise from top left: Maurice Hawkins,
Robert Jacks, Joshua Hall, Eugene Ward, Clarence Tucker and
Christopher Boyd; Gwendolyn Pharr, assistant coach; and Dr. Nellie
Boyd, head coach. Not pictured is team member Alan Augustson.
by CNB