BISHOP GUERTIN TAKES ALL BY WINNING GRANITE STATE SUPERCHALLENGE AND NH-MA GOVERNOR'S CUP MATCHES

(DURHAM, May 16, 2015) - It's a rivalry that has grown over seasons of GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE. On Saturday, in an almost player-to-player rematch of last year's SUPERCHALLENGE game, Bishop Guertin High School topped defending champions Pinkerton Academy by a score of 380 to 130. From there, Bishop Guertin went on to defeat the Math & Science Academy Charter School team from Marlborough, MA, 635 to 450 in the NH-MA GOVERNOR'S CUP match. This marks the first time in 28 years that Bishop Guertin has won the GRANITE STATE SUPERCHALLENGE. And it's the second consecutive win for New Hampshire in the Granite State vs. Bay State GOVERNOR'S CUP, a competition between the winning GSC team and the winner of the WGBH Boston High School Quiz Show. In the SUPERCHALLENGE, Pinkerton held strong in the first few rounds of the game, but Bishop Guertin captain Timothy Morrison responded swiftly and accurately to questions, and helped the team forge a solid lead. Immediately following the win against Pinkerton, Bishop Guertin went head-to-head with the Advanced Math & Science Academy in the third annual NH-MA GOVERNOR'S CUP, which was played in Boston under the rules of WGBH's High School Quiz Show. "This has been a remarkable season for a remarkable group of young people," said Lisa Larochelle, coach of Bishop Guertin. "The team practices every Monday afternoon but we knew and were advised that the atmosphere of the Governor's Cup was vastly different. I think the support of the school and student fans, as well as their parents, were also key in their tremendous team effort." "Last year was a dream season for us," said Pinkerton Academy coach Peter Crowell. "Being in the final match again was an amazing feat but I knew we had a tough game ahead of us. I am extremely proud of my team members and look forward to next year’s competition." The Bishop Guertin Cardinals were represented by captain Timothy Morrison, Zachary Deming, David Travers, and Holly Boivin, and were coached by Lisa Larochelle. The Pinkerton Astros were represented by captain Rebekah Terry, Joe Ronca, Jake Hudgins, and Sara Tridenti, and were coached by Peter Crowell and Pam Griswold. Watch the match online. The popular GSC quiz contest began its 31st season with 16 Granite State high school teams battling toward the coveted SuperChallenge title and brainy bragging rights. New Hampshire's top high school academic teams demonstrate teamwork, quick thinking and smarts as they play GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE. The game emphasizes quick recall of math, science, social studies, language arts and fine arts facts - along with questions about current events, entertainment, sports, and New England. Host Jim Jeannotte poses the Challenge questions; co-host Lori Warriner gets the behind-the-scenes story from each team. Watch GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE Saturdays at 6 PM on NHPTV PRIME, with multiple airdates on NHPTV PRIME and NHPTV EXPLORE. All games can be watched online at video.nhptv.org, on YouTube or iTunes. Online GSC quizzes keep students and audiences involved in the fun. www.nhptv.org/gsc GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE is generously funded by lead sponsor Unitil, a provider of natural gas and electricity to customers in New England; additional funding is provided by NEA New Hampshire, Heinemann, D.F. Richard, Markem-Imaje, Measured Progress, and the NHHEAF Network.

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