UKAT Alumni
Dustin Anderson (1996?-1999) Dustin played for the UKAT in 1997-98, but only sparsely in 1998-99, as he was busy working at the state government offices in Frankfort. Dustin specialized in Political Science and American history. We will always remember Dustin for his high-speed driving to tournaments and the fact that the only music he listened to on those trips was his (estimated 20-30 cassette) Jimmy Buffett collection. Dustin graduated from UK in Spring 1999 with a degree in Political Science and went on to the University of Florida Law School.
Michael Bass (1999-2000) The UKAT greatly enjoyed Michael's one-year stint with us, having joined after doing most of his undergraduate studies at Vanderbilt. His sports and legal knowledge always came in handy, and he drove to many events. We will certainly miss the humor and knowledge Michael brought to our team. We wish him good luck in pursuing his law degree at Georgetown University.
James Brown (1995-1998) No, he was not the Godfather of Soul; not even close. Instead, James was an engineering student who graduated in December 1998 with his bachelors after four years at UK spent competing on the UKAT. James was universally well-liked, something rather unique among UKAT members, since his minor personality defects - id est an obsession with role-playing (D&D, not S&M) and his tendency to tell very long stories - were more than offset by his friendly demeanor and playing ability. James was an above average competitor, and we were glad to have had him aboard.
Nathan Coulombe (2001-2005) A fine player despite his avowed distaste for all things not scientific, Nathan played rarely but usually with excellent results, racking up a number of individual accolades. Having at last collected his engineering degree, Nathan has moved out into the job market, where we wish him nothing but the best.
Amy Crawford (1998) Another casualty to conflicting schedules, Amy wasn't able to do much with the team after some irregular practice appearances in 1998. Along with her studies, she devoted much of her time to the Kentucky Kernel newspaper.
Michael Evans (Fall 2004)
In two tournaments with the UKAT Michael supplied startlingly
excellent performances, registering the best début tournament in the team's
history at Tech's Heinrich Bowl and cracking the top ten individually at the
Fall. After that, however, Michael withdrew from the team, leaving the rest of
us to sigh wistfully at the stellar career he could have had; alas.
Elizabeth Frank (2000-01) Elizabeth joined the UKAT in the Fall 2000 semester, having been too busy to get involved in her previous two years at UK. She would apparently soon find herself too busy to play past 2001, sadly, and despite making an impression on the team her time on the squad was limited to one season, having made an appearance at the SLO in 2000
Christy Freadreacea (2001-2005) Frequently victimised statistically by her tendency to play with more aggressive teammates and by the fact that she was a specialist whose categories - primarily biology and film - are often under-represented, Christy nevertheless provided a substantial contribution to any team for which she played, as her pleasant demeanour, gently malicious wit, and cool-headedness provides a calming influence on the UKAT's more spastic members and a civilising effect on its more wantonly cruel and hostile ones. A good player, an excellent friend, and a beautiful woman in every meaning of the word, Christy was the stunning sandy-blonde nailing a tossup on Citizen Kane in eight words and soothing - while softly mocking - the foul moods of her teammates at the tournaments where she played, and while it is unlikely she will play when she goes off to graduate school, she will be an incalculably valuable asset for any team if she does.
Nick Garland (1997-99) Along with fellow freshmen Chad Money (his high-school teammate), Robert Osborne, and Dominick Willis, Nick joined the UKAT in 1997 and immediately made an impression due to his fantastic skills, abilities which - if honed and in combination with the others - could have resulted in a devastatingly excellent team. It was not to be, however, and Nick discontinued his participation with the team after fall of 1998. A master of geology and paleontology, Nick was a gifted player, one of many who engendered rueful conjectures about what might have been.
Lyndra Givens (1997-1998)
A member of the UKAT from 1995-1998 and a member of the Oglethorpe team from 1993-4, Lyndra, as a graduate student, helped coach our KCQRL events 1997-98 and played at the '98 Georgia Tech MLK event. Sadly, Lyndra passed away on June 22, 2000 in Laredo, Texas, where she had been working as librarian at Texas A&M International University.
Lyle Goodwin (2004-2005)
Lyle, Neal Patel, and Michael Evans were apparently all friends from the Governor's Scholars program and decided to give the UKAT a chance in 2004. Alas, like his cohorts, Lyle's time with the team was not long, but long enough to add his knowledge of the sciences to teams at Tech's fall in 2004 and at the 2005 NaQT sectionals.
Jarrett Greer (1997-99) Jarrett shone brightly as the best new player to join the UKAT in 1998, possessed of immense talent both for the in-state KCQRL league (a format at which this team soon discontinued participation) and also for NAQT and ACF. Jarrett no doubt won the award for coolest UKAT member in '98, but unfortunately we lost him to a busy schedule in the spring of '99. Impressive for his extensive CD collection and sports knowledge, Jarrett was a master of Mesoamerican Indian civilizations and hardcore biology, adding much scientific knowledge to the team.
Miranda Harris (2004-2005) After a first season with the UKAT mostly spent learning the ropes of the college game as well as navigating the sometimes tricky interpersonal assocations of the team, Miranda was compelled by various circumstances to transfer from Kentucky. The team enjoyed her company and wishes her nothing but the best in any future endeavors, quizbowl-related and otherwise.
Will Kirkland (2001-2005)
For the better part of five years Will devoted his knowledge of philosophy, science, and miscellanea towards the helping UKAT's efforts, for which he won a number of tournament all-stars and played on winning teams such as that claiming the undergraduate championship of ACF Regionals 2005 and that bringing home victory from UTC's Moonpie later that semester. Notorious for his dreadful taste in music, his absentmindedness, and his overall good humor, Will was both a good guy and a solid competitor.
John Kuchenbrod Longtime player-coach for the team, "Kuch" played at Transylvania and Michigan before helping to found the UKAT. An intense coach, as a player Kuchenbrod was known for his immense interrupt taking abilities, though his CBI prowess once enabled him to beat Georgia Tech legend Jim Dendy. He currently teaches at Emory and Henry College, in Virginia.
Erin Malony (2003-2005)
Among the most talented new recruits ever to join the UKAT, Erin's first two seasons with the team yielded statistics which were good by most novice standards but were only glimpses of the devastating tossup
machine she had the potential to have become had she ever had time to hone her
skills. However, galaxy of
other commitments have kept her away from competition past those two years. Erin was diminutive in stature (4'11") but was possessed of a fearsome personality: loud, forceful, and superbly confident, was simply delightful and it is a shame we could not have seen more of her.
Christopher Manker (1999-2004) In his years with the UKAT Manker contributed tossups based on his familiarity with history and general miscellanea while keeping his knowledge sharp so that he could apply it to his future employment as high school teacher and quizbowl coach. Having collected his teaching degree in 2004, Manker went out into the job market, where we wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.
Jonathan Manker (Fall 2004)
Brother of former UKAT member Christopher Manker, Jonathan seems to have inherited from his older sibling a tendency not to go to tournaments; after one regular season competition, he seems to have restricted his play to summer events.
Kim Martin (1999-2002) Lovely, effervescent, and thoroughly pleasant company, Kim spent three years with UKAT, shouldering admirably the mountain of scorn she must have received from her sorority sisters for hanging out with such snarling misfits and maladroits. Overshadowed constantly because her areas of expertise (chemistry and literature) were also the demesnes of her more aggressive teammates, Kim did much to provide a congenial atmosphere and reduce tension in tight situations, and could always be relied upon for a delightfully sarcastic bust and for her appreciation for the brutally cruel humor with which the team habitually lanced each other to ribbons. Kim is now off pursuing various career opportunites, probably in a state which will not be as forgiving of her trademark 95 mph driving as Kentucky has been.
Kelly McKenzie (1997-2005) It is in the “Alumni” section of a team’s web-page that one might expect to find hyperbole-inflated encomia about former players, and perhaps these are rightly viewed with skepticism. In the case of Kelly McKenzie and his quizbowl powers, however, exagerration is difficult and is far less effective a paean than an accurate report of the truth would be. The record of Kelly’s many accomplishments and the remarkable tale of his rise to the very top of the quizbowl universe would be a lengthy undertaking, but the enterprise is one that is worthwhile, in part to preserve his memory for future generations of players whose tendency is to look back on the titans of the past with a tendency to doubt and minimise their talents, and in part to provide an example for rising players who might need real evidence of all that is possible with the right amount of work and determination to succeed, no matter what the level at which the novice begins. For that reason, a brief biography of Kelly will be found here, offered with the most profound respect for his gifts, from the spirit of appreciation for all that he had done for this team, from an abiding affection on the part of all those he has befriended over the years on this organization, and from a desire to set him up as a role model and paradigm for all those who would aim at his success.
Dana McVey (2003-2005)
During his brief tenure with the UKAT Dana initially struggled with
interrupt difficulties but more than made up for them by providing his teams with tossup points in myth and art. Although never a participant in the team's bacchanalian activities and often more than a little uncomfortable with those and the sulfurous profanity employed by practically everyonemon the squad, Dana nevertheless approached the team with a good
humor which likely well surpassed what we actually
deserved.
Chad Money (1997; 2003-2005) In 1997 the UKAT's new recruits included Dominick Willis, Nick Garland, Robert Osborne, and Chad Money, a foursome so talented that Seth immediately began to have red dreams of them forming one team, becoming seasoned through four years of practicing and playing together, and ultimately becoming a Nationals-winning superpower along the lines of Georgia Tech or the University of Maryland circa 1996. Alas, it was not to be: Chad withdrew from the team and from school midway through the season, Dominick followed suit the next year, and Nick left the team not long after, and while Robert joined Seth and Kelly to make the UKAT a National contender and in the process turned himself into one of the best players of all time, the imagined superteam never came into being (though to see what might have been, check out the stats from the 1998 Tech MLK, when three of the four of them rotated on the same team, all in their freshman year, and all averaging above 10 ppg). However, to everyone's astonishment, Chad returned to the team halfway through the 2002-3 season and immediately began to give indications that Seth's initial faith had not been misplaced; after winning an all-star in his very first intercollegiate tournament, he went on to rack up a number of others (including five tournament MVPs) and was on the team which won the ACF Regionals 2005 Undergraduate title and the 2005 Moon Pie. Nor was Chad the person any less interesting: a musician devoted to the rock'n'roll lifestyle, his buzzer prowess is all the more remarkable given the oceans and oceans of alcohol he consumed before and on occasion during tournaments. For his potent scoring punch, as well as for his willingness to help out the team at all levels and his friendly demeanour, Chad will be sorely missed.
Bobbi Jo
Mullins (2003-2004)
For her year with the team Bobbi Jo had the misfortune of playing alongside teammates who were either wildly aggressive or potent scorers, which effectively kept her from demonstrating her true potential scoring points based on her knowledge of biology and art. She was then called away by the real world, but while she was here Bobbi Jo was appreciated and liked for both her abilities and for her very, very soft but razor-sharp wit and her good humor, which made her pleasant company on long trips.
Robert Osborne (1997-2004) Although Robert was overshadowed throughout his career by the circuit's greater familiarity with (and in some cases notoriety given to) Seth and Kelly, those who have gotten to know the UKAT well during the period when it was at its best are certainly aware that Robert was consistently the straw that stirs the drink for the team and was the arch on which the entire edifice of its success had been built. Possibly the ontologically perfect third player when competing with the other two and a 70 PPG all-star when separate from them, Robert had in addition contributed his services to the team's web-page from 1999 to 2004 and served as its President in 2001. All of these services were of great value, but perhaps an asset of equal worth was Robert the person: his level head, his well-documented hatred of the arts, his bizarro political beliefs, his brutally honest opinions, his sharp wit, and his so-called stories which fall just short of Aristotelian completeness in their lack of a point and, often, an ending - these were all things that made Robert irreplaceable to the UKAT both in and out of tournaments. It does not seem unfair to say that many of the victories the team won and the lion's share of the fun it had doing so were both directly attributable to Robert.
Neal Patel (Fall 2004)
Neal, Lyle Goodwin, and Michael Evans were apparently all friends from the Governor's Scholars program and decided to give the UKAT a chance in 2004. Like Michael and Lyle, however, Neal apparently decided the UKAT was not for him after two tournaments at which he played decently for a beginner; an opportunity lost, it seems.
Gerald Patton (2003-2007)
In the long car trip to ACF Nationals 2004 during which Gerald regaled the team with his pharmaceutical and romantic escapades, Robert good-naturedly - well, as good-naturedly as Robert was capable of - mused about how it was that so many adventures could befall "that dope Gerald", who for all external appearances seemed to be nothing so much as a stereotypical frat-boy (minus the frat). Indeed, Gerald was something of a study in contradiction throughout his tenure with the UKAT: an unrepentant party animal who nevertheless earned a fairly demanding degree in classical studies and is now an officer in the Air Force, Gerald had a great drive to compete in quizbowl but rarely had the time to improve, leading to his willingness to go to the most hardcore of tournaments but not put up staggering numbers there. All of this was borne with a level head and great humor with which he also put up with Seth's constant friendly - well, as friendly as Seth is capable of - mockery, making him one of the team's all-time most pleasant cats. For this, for his yeoman work as a supporting layer for most of his career, for his service served as team chauffeur to many events, and for the fact that Gerald pretty much held the team together when Seth left the city after the 2004-2005 season, the UKAT owes Gerald a great debt; the team was the better for his time with it, and he will be missed.
Todd Preston (2001-2004)
Not infrequently compelled to choose between the UKAT and the theatre, when Todd could play he supplied knowledge
of literature and film to the squad. In addition to his ACF prowess, Todd also brought his excellent taste in music, his occasionally arid wit, and his
monolithic patience in the face of Seth's endless impressions of his very
distinctive voice.
Thomas Reimel (1999-01) Thomas spent two years with the UKAT from 1999 to 2001. Being a non-traditional student in his late 20's and having no previous academic competition experience, Thomas amazed most of us with his talents. We can only imagine what his skills could have been if he had been a high school player who came directly to college. He kept quite a heavy class load and, thus, was rarely present for practices, but we will always be grateful for his participation and reliable play.
Nate Rice (2002-2004)
Part ivory-tower intellectual Political Scientist, part
drunken riverboat gambler, Nate's steady production of tossup points gleaned
from his wide breadth of general knowledge was all the more remarkable given
that he frequently played under what one might diplomatically call "altered
consciousness". Fearless and competitive, the UKAT
derived great pleasure from the fact while most teams were distracted by Nate's
inebriated antics and wrote him off as a lout (which he certainly was), they
fail to take into account that he was also a fine player until after he
had helped propel his squad to victory over them.
Steven
Richardson (1999-2004)
From the very first tournament at which he played for the UKAT (COTKU 1999, for which he took home a top first-tournament player award), Richardson added a scoring punch derived from his fairly immense knowledge of Latin America and mythology. Better as a team anchor than as a supporting player due to his overlaps with Seth, Richardson nevertheless occasionally filled the latter role with a great deal of grace, and was overall a fine asset to the team whose worth was repeatedly proven.
Neal Scruggs (1998-2001) Neal was a part of the UKAT for three years, from Fall 1998 until his graduation in Spring 2001. All too often, we relied on Neal's famous battleship of a car for transportation to our numerous and widespread events. Joining us in his sophomore year by way of Texas, Neal grew into a very reliable player in many fields (particularly science) and was a two-year president for the UKAT. He was always entertaining and hosted several of our team get-togethers in his immaculate apartment. For all of this and more, we greatly enjoyed and appreciated Neal's tenure with us and wish him great luck in his future endeavors.
Robert Semones (2003-2005)
Some very impressive numbers at practice led the UKAT to pin high hopes on Semones, and had real life not called him away he might well have translated his deep knowledge in classics to big points per game. As it was, Semones served as a competent supporting player during his time with the team, but one whose potential makes his truncated career lamentable.
Sean Stave (1995-99) Sean has been a valuable UKAT member for the past four years, handling many of the administrative tasks for us. With his recently obtained Physics bachelors degree, this genius will be continuing his education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for many years to come. Sean was a consistent player in all forms, specializing, of course, in hardcore science. ACF, particularly, shafts everyone once in a while, and Sean got more than his share of this, as ACF tends to write little "hard science," and what gets in is frequently poorly phrased anyway. Still, he almost always got what could be gotten, and got what the rest of us thought to be ungettable. Sean left quite a void for us to fill, and we wish him luck.
Charlie Thomas (2003-2005)
Charlie played with the UKAT long enough to demonstrate that he had a fairly decent sized reservoir of talent: by ACF Fall 2004 he was demonstrating respectable numbers and showing a marked improvement over his performance during the previous year. However, the usual curse of "too much to do" fixed itself on Charlie, as well, making his time with the team all too brief.
John Wigginton (2004)
John (no relation to Rebecca) made a brief appearance at UKAT practices and contributed to a team sent to UTC's Moon Pie in 2004.
Rebecca Wigginton (2001-2005) A talented player whose principal contribution came in the form of her knowledge of art and literature, Rebecca was equally notable for her penchant for spontaneous neologisms coined when attempting to speak while excited. Lovely, often effervescent, and never dull, Rebecca was the one speaking very quietly and wearing her usual charming expression of delight admixed with horror which members of this team seem so adept at inspiring; she, too, seems unlikely to continue her playing career in graduate school, but would be a real help to any team for which she might decide to play.
Dominick Willis (1997-98) One of the quartet of promising freshman who joined the UKAT in 1997, Dominick - like his erstwhile teammates Nick Garland and Chad Money - did not make it to the 1998-1999 season with the team, having been compelled 98 to suspend his studies here for various reasons. One of the most pleasant members of the team, Dominick played at the '98 Tech MLK and was on the team that took 3rd at ACF Regionals and won South Carolina's tournament that year, showing the great promise as a player that, alas, never got to materialize.