Re: Best Players

• From: Viking Squirrel <geertgen22_at_ratatosk22.yahoo.invalid>
• Date: Sat, 10 May 2003 11:31:41 -0000
• Message-ID: <b9inut+em4v_at_...>

--- In quizbowl_at_yahoogroups.com, tgallows <no_reply_at_y...> wrote:
> 
> > 10. Raj Duwalia - Solid player, who seems to benefit from playing 
in 
> > Southeast.  Put up great numbers at NAQT, but ACF nationals 
numbers 
> > were sketchy.
> 

Let me add that not only is Raj a nice and modest person (as has been 
rightly mentioned on this board on a number of occasions), but even 
on a team basically by himself, he can "crush you like a bug."  

ACF Nationals numbers are sketchy?  Maybe his team stats, because he 
really didn't have one... but tell that to us; he kept MD out the top 
bracket by giving us nearly our worst loss of the day.

> leading Freeburg in negs at some point.  Bleah.  However, I don't
> think I "benefit" much statistically from playing in the Southeast,
> which I would rank as the third-toughest region behind the Upper
> Midwest and the West.  A typical southeastern tournament entails
> playing against Kentucky, Emory, Vanderbilt, and South Carolina (and
> UF), which isn't a row of tomato cans.  [Maryland can attest to the
> region's strength, from their MLK experience.]  It was a tougher
> region last year, when stronger teams from Georgia, FSU, and FAU 
were in the mix.  The top of the field isn't as strong as in the upper
> midwest, but it's not what I'd consider a soft region.
> 
Um, Kentucky is pretty scary (only time I've been down by 400 in a 
game this year was against them at MLK -- they led us 450-45 before 
giving us "mercy" in the last three TUs).  A fully stacked Florida 
team is very excellent as well, and Vernon Davenport (a player much 
like Raj in both demeanor and ability) of South Carolina gave us fits 
all year -- beat MD 5 times out of 9.  Granted, we were missing half 
our A team at MLK, but I respect all the teams Raj mentioned above.
Though I liked our MLK experience; question quality and competition 
were both high... I only wish we could have played more matches.

OK, that's enough name-dropping ;-) Happy Mother's Day!
-Adam

> --Raj Dhuwalia, UF