Five UNC Asheville students donned their thinking caps and walked away champions of the Fourth Annual Big South Conference Quiz Bowl on February 7. The UNC Asheville players faced six Big South Conference challengers at Gardner-Webb University in tournament play, beating three-time reigning champions Liberty University. Team members include seniors David Coates and Robert Meehan; juniors Joseph Blair and Jennifer Guilford; and sophomore Josh Siary.

"I have been on the team since 2006 and Liberty has been a powerhouse every year," said Meehan, the team captain. "It's been my dream for three years to take them down – and we did. It felt fantastic."

Described as "the varsity sport of the mind," quiz bowl teams play fast-paced rounds with a variety of questions on history, literature, science, math, sports and current events. Each team is composed of five students and the team with the most points at the end of each match is declared the winner. The team with the best record at the conclusion of the tournament is declared champions. The Big South Conference is the only collegiate athletic conference to sponsor a quiz bowl tournament.

Meehan knew the team had a chance to win, and attributes this in part to the University's liberal arts curriculum.

"UNC Asheville's well rounded courses definitely gave us an edge," said Meehan. "Almost every member of the team is a science major – from biology to computer science – and the humanities classes we've all been required to take helped fill in our knowledge of literature and art."

For now, the team will keep up their twice-a-week practices until it's time for the next competition. But Meehan said he doesn't mind.

"Each practice last three hours but it goes by fast," he said. "Practice is less formal than it sounds. Basically it's just a bunch of kids hanging out and having fun answering trivia questions. It just so happened that our approach it took us to the top."