UHS Science Bowl places 2nd at regionals

March 2, 2016

The UHS Ocean Science Bowl team with adviser **Katie Levensailor (Science Dept.).** (Paul Lin)

By ASHI PARASHAR
Contributing Writer
The UHS Science Bowl team placed 2nd at the 17th annual Surf Bowl Competition, the furthest any UHS team has reached in Ocean Science Bowl (OSB) history, in Pasadena, CA, this past Saturday.
OSB is an academic competition that focuses on ocean-related topics. Every year, high school students compete in tournaments to represent their region in the National OSB.
The UHS team, consisting of captain Adam Lin (So.), Ashi Parashar (So.), Linghao Kong (So.), Amy Zhong (Fr.) and alternate Jeff Guo (So.) had been preparing for months before the competition. None of the members on the team had ever competed in Ocean Science Bowl before.
The team opened with losses against Mark Keppel High School and San Juan Hills High School but emerged victorious against the rest of the teams in its division in the first half of the competition. UHS clinched a 79-78 victory against Woodbridge High School (WHS), which was previously undefeated. The 3-2 record of the first half earned UHS a spot in the top 8.
“I was amazed that we had gotten this far,” said Zhong. “I realized we finally had a shot at winning.”
The team started off strong in the second half of the competition, winning its first match against Temple City High School, but fell short against Santa Monica High School (SMHS). Seizing on its second chance, UHS cruised through the challenger bracket, securing victories against Temple City and La Canada High School. When the team members faced WHS again, they secured another victory, moving onto finals.
“I felt so proud of our team and what we had managed to accomplish with our hard work,” Guo said.
The team, playing its third round in a row, faced off once more against SMHS, which was undefeated, in finals. UHS led 34-28 at the end of the first half. However, SMHS clinched the victory by 6 points, securing a spot in the National OSB taking place in April.
“There are few things more rewarding than seeing how far we got with what we knew, who we knew, and how we knew it,” Lin said.

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