The team, consisting of Paul McKay, Phil Smith, Katherine Swindells and Aditya Balachander, beat Exeter University by 150 points in the quarter finals, aired on Monday, February 11.

Although keen not to give away the scores, Captain Paul MacKay confirmed that the team had reached the final of this year's series.
He said: "We were really pleased to get so far. I only got involved for a bit of fun in the first place."

The team was selected in February of last year from students who came to auditions in the Union auditorium. After a rigorous general knowledge quiz 16 students had to answer questions under quick fire conditions.

From these, eight students, in two teams, were chosen. The final team, sent to auditions in Manchester, was a combination of these two teams.
Studying for Phds in Law, Chemistry, Linguistics and a degree in Architecture the team's knowledge covers a wide range of topics.
"Degrees don't really come in to it though," Paul said. "Its general knowledge that matters."

For the months leading up to and during filming the team increased their general knowledge by attending a weekly pub quiz at the Red Deer in Sheffield city centre, a quiz night they apparently never won.

"The experience was tense, but nonetheless exciting," said Aditya, an International student from Texas. "I didn't have many expectations. If I'm honest, I never expected us to actually make it beyond round one!"

The team moved quickly through the early rounds of the competition, filmed over June and July of last year. Previous experience on a similar show at school in Northern Ireland helped team captain Paul with a game plan.

He said: "Speed is really important. If you buzz in quickly and then get a head start it can be quite hard for the other team to catch up."
Although the University has not covered their success, the team have been recognised by students around campus.

"I've had a few random hi-fives," Paul said. "Everyone wants to know what Jeremy Paxman is like but I didn't actually get to talk to him."
Aditya hasn't been quick to find his face on television.

"To be honest, I am yet to have seen a single episode with me on it. However, people tell me I have a habit of mouthing after I give an answer. I never knew I was this close to coming across as insane.

"I've not had much quiz experience outside of the Itbox and pub quiz, but back in High School I was on our schools quiz team."

The whole of University Challenge was a great experience for Aditya: "I had to repeat a scene were I got a question wrong, and had to sit on a cushion because of my height. Good times," he smiled. The team will be appearing again in their semi-final against Magdalen College, Oxford at 8pm on Monday, February 25.


This story is from the University of Sheffield's student paper, the Steel Press. Visit their webpage for more stories.