Georgia Tech Rambles Over UCI Team in Televised ‘College Bowl’ Quarterfinals

It was a good run while it lasted, but UC Irvine’s “College Bowl” team lost in national quarterfinal competition to the Georgia Institute of Technology in a game televised nationally Sunday evening.

The defeat by Georgia Tech, by a score of 410-220, ends the UCI team’s winning season after it captured the regional title and then defeated Ohio State University, 340-240, in a game televised Oct. 11.

“I don’t think we really played poorly,” said UCI coach Marti Barmore, who watched Sunday’s game at home in Costa Mesa with her team. “They (Georgia Tech) were more spontaneous. They were faster and anticipated more questions before the announcer (Dick Cavett) even finished asking them.

“Also, they practice year-round and we don’t. . . . We knew when we started that Georgia Tech was going to be the team to beat.”

Barmore, assistant director of UCI’s student activities office, said that members of the Irvine squad “are well-rounded,” intended to have fun, and did not make the College Bowl their highest priority.

Added team member Mark Sugars: “We went into this one ready to choke.”

Georgia Tech proceeds to the semifinals, in a game to be aired Dec. 13, against the winner of next Sunday’s contest between North Carolina State and the University of Wisconsin.

All of the games involved in the 16-team, single-elimination tournament were taped in June at Florida’s Epcot Center. However, participants have promised not to reveal the outcomes until all the games have aired.