CERTAMEN · Torch:U.S. · Fall 2016
16
"I think that our success this year can be best attributed to two things, not to the hundreds of hours of studying and tens of thousands of flashcards we endured in preperation for nationals certamen; but rather the way our team played together, which is as essential as any studying we had done, and the support shown to us by not only our own Wisconsin delegation but several others who cheered us on during the final: I myself have never played with a team so in synch and so conscious of eachother; moreover, the backing we had was really extraordinary and is what pushed us through; the thought that hundreds of people belive that you can succeed is enough to arouse the best in anyone." -Adam Abuhajir
"Thanks to all the teams, timekeepers, scorekeepers, and moderators. It was an amazing tournament. I don't think any of us expected to win in all honesty
Our goal was first to score in semis after getting blanked in the infamous FL-TX chiasm round from last year and second to make finals. We were all elated to just have made finals, and that relaxed attitude ended up working out as we played a very calm, accurate game, as did VA and FL (between all 3 teams only one toss up was missed, which is virtually unheard of in advanced finals). Both of the other two teams in finals were extremely strong, and that finals round was the toughest and most tense round I have ever played."- Ram Gollapudy