On April 12, six UHS Math Club students traveled to Stanford University for the Stanford Math Tournament, a national competition consisting of over 800 students and 160 teams. The team earned top scores in several categories and placed 16th overall. While on campus, the team was guided by UHS alum and current Stanford student Aniyah Shen, who helped coach the team and gave them a tour of the campus.
The team—juniors Feodor Yevtushenko, Ishan Vannadil, Lawrence Liu, and sophomores Virat Varada, Michael Jian and Timothy Chen—competed in various events such as algebra, calculus, and a fast-paced round called the Guts Round. Despite the difficulty of the problems, several students placed among the top ranks. For many, it was their first experience at a large-scale national math tournament, making the event both challenging and memorable.
“Teamwork is not common in competition mathematics,” Chen said. “Usually, everyone is by themselves fighting for the top spots, and discussion is often completely forbidden. So, it was so nice to be able to work together on problems directly with others—I always find it refreshing to hear another voice or idea when solving tasks.”
The Power Round was a competition round that allowed the team to collaborate on a set of creative, proof-based problems over the course of 80 minutes. Unlike most of the tournament, which focused on individual performance, this round emphasized teamwork, a rare but valuable experience that required more thought and strategy.
“SMT has helped me become a more efficient and productive team player,” Yevtushenko said. “The tournament was a great opportunity to practice collaboration in a relatively low-stakes environment.”
The tournament was highly competitive, with over 800 students from around the country competing. Despite the pressure, the team remained focused and placed well in several events, earning awards in algebra, calculus, geometry and more. In addition to sharpening their individual problem-solving skills, the experience gave them a chance to practice teamwork and improve communication skills through collaborating on tough problems.
“Teams need to apply to compete at SMT because it attracts so much interest,” Chen said. “When I saw that UHS had been accepted, I was excited since it would be our first faraway competition. It was a great chance to reconnect with friends, improve my math skills and bond with the UHS math community. I’m really glad I got to compete at SMT.”
The Stanford Math Tournament exposed the UHS Math Club to high-level national competition and gave it the chance to engage with top students from across the country. The team gained valuable experience, made lasting memories, and returned with a stronger sense of teamwork for future competitions.
