University Challenge Quarter Final Elimination Match - Newnham, Cambridge v. Jesus, Cambridge

The Teams

Newnham, Cambridge

Bethan Holloway-Strong

Hannah Bowen

Roma Ellis (capt.)

Chen Zhiyu

Jesus, Cambridge

Josh Kaye

Juliette Tindall

Hamish MacGregor (Capt.)

Sumit Aggarwal

Howdy pardners. Let’s see who was drinking with us in the last chance saloon last night. Why, it was none other than Newnham, Cambridge, comprehensively defeated by Bristol in their first quarter and Jesus. Cambridge who were likewise beaten by UCL. Since then Bristol have beaten UCL to take their place in the semi-final. Victory in this match would guarantee nothing other than another match. Defeat, though, would mean departure from the competition.

Last time out Newnham’s superbuzzer, captain Roma Ellis, couldn’t quite find her range. Last night though she was on target as early as the first starter, knowing that the English samurai and various others were all surnamed Adams. 3 bonuses on my next planned sketching destination, Copenhagen followed. Yeah, I did take a lap of honour for knowing the first being a Science question. I knew – guessed – Einstein for the last as well. Newnham took the same pair. Sumit Aggarwal showed a nifty turn of speed on the buzzer himself to identify Bangladesh as country that became independent in 1971. Dorothy L. Sayers brought just the one correct answer in he bonuses, although I loved the idea of Virginia Woolf possibly having written adverts for Colman’s Mustard. Roma Ellis took her second starter knowing subdivisions of the Carboniferous period. I went through one of hose when I was learning not to overcook. Bonuses on a faunal boundary line turned out to be a rather more gentle set than I was expecting and we both took a full house. So to the picture round and we were shown the symbol of a supranational organisation. I sympathise with both teams because it really did look like the sort of thing you’d see on the tailplanes of airliners in the late 70s. Actually it belongs to the Nordic Council. Roma Ellis won the battle race to identify the villainous Cylons from Battlestar Galactica for her third starter to earn the picture bonuses. Flags of three minor members of the Nordic Council brought another full house. No two ways about it, Newnham were on fire last night. Nobody knew the FA Vase competition for the next starter. There’s FA Cup, then FA Trophy, then FA Vase – down to FA Pipette and FA Sachet, one supposes. Roma Ellis took her fourth starter before the ten minute mark by knowing the term blanching. Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin (gesundheit) brought us both a single bonus. Didn’t matter. After a barnstorming start Newnham led by 85 – 15 just after ten minutes.

I don’t think that I’ve ever heard of the term skeumorphic but Sumit Aggarwal knew it, to get Jesus moving again. We both took a full house on noted philosophers. However Roma Ellis cut short their revival by buzzing in early to identify Bikini Atoll as the island whose population the US kindly moved before blowing the place to kingdom come in 1946. Pairs of words differing on in the one having an initial a and the other an initial e provided a good UC set that saw us both take another full house. For once I got the music starter, recognising “I’ve grown accustomed to her face” from My Fair Lady. It was Roma Ellis taking starter 6 who had that one. Songs from other musicals that also won platinum records brought, well, yes, another full house. Newnham were having one of those nights when everything goes in the net. Hannah Bowen guessed that decises must mean legal precedents. The film director Mia Hansen-Love (me neither) still brought them a couple of bonuses. Poor old Jesus were looking rather like rabbits in headlights, having received a battering on the buzzer in the first half of the contest. I don’t know Henrietta Lacks, but Juliette Tindall did. A couple of bonuses on Popes helped, but much more was needed. More correct answers, that is, not popes. Roma Ellis took starter number 7 when she knew that the element named after the daughter of Tantalus is Niobium. Space in 20^th century art brought just the one bonus. Neither team knew that St. Cuthbert is buried in Durham Cathedral. So just on the cusp of the 20 minute mark Newnham led by 170 – 50.

Let’s be honest, you could have named your own price if you fancied taking Jesus for the win at this stage. It was still theoretically possible, but let’s be honest, to all intents and purposes the game was over as a contest. Sumit Aggarwal was sstill giving it a lash though, identifying the Polish mathematician Sierpinski, who incidentally was the second man after Abebe Bikela to defend his Olympic Marathon title. Barentzs, after whom the Sea was named, brought them a bonus. For the second picture starter, despite the couple’s obvious resemblance to Adolf Hitler and Tom Baker (in his Doctor Who days) Hannah Bowen identified Sparks. Yay – I loved Sparks back in the day. Other groups who featured in documentary films provided just one bonus. Didn’t matter. The game was won, this was just gilding. Given ‘musical composition’ ‘Chopin’ and ‘period of the day’ Hamish MacGregor could buzz in with Nocturne. Eponymous chemical reactions promised and delivered nowt to me, but brought one correct answer to Jesus. Roma Ellis knew that Henry V opens with an invocation to a muse of fire. Designers and architects brought one correct answer. Hannah Bowen recognised a description of buckwheat to take Newnham through the 200 points barrier for the first time in the whole competition. Bonuses on metal working brought a further  points to their burgeoning total. Sumit Aggarwal knew a Bessel function – me neither – for which the sign was J. Fair enough. African capitals supplied just the one correct answer, but did at least push them within striking distance of a triple figure score. I did not understand the following maths starter but Sumit Aggarwal had it with 30. Triple figure score duly achieved. Books with days of the week in their titles brought the couple of answers they needed to take their score to 115, while Newnham won with 215.

Hard lines to Jesus, but once again they were well beaten and will have no complaints. As for Newnham – well, what a performance. Aside from Roma Ellis’ magnificent 8 starters, they achieved a bonus conversion rate of 63.6 percent. On this form, a semi final place is not beyond them.

Interesting Fact That I Didn’t Already Know Of The Week

In legal terms the term decises refers to the concept of legal precedents.