Pioneer LogLewis & Clark College’s Student-Run Newspaper

Romick gets much support during Jeopardy! showing

February 05, 2010

by Megan Quint

Students came out in droves on Monday to watch Lewis & Clark student Lyndsey Romick (’12) appear Jeopardy!’s College Championship. Romick placed second in her round, which aired at 7 p.m. on ABC.

Romick competed against Ryan Stoffers, a sophomore from the University of California Los Angeles and Danny Vopava, a sophomore at the University of Wisconsin at River Falls.

Romick competed well throughout Jeopardy! and Double Jeopardy!, though Stoffers was able to rack up a large lead. Both Romick and Vopava struggled with the clue for Final Jeopardy!, which, filed under the category of Medicine, read “The genes of this organism were discovered to be two parts pig, one part human and one part bird.” The correct answer, which Stoffers was able to come up with, is H1N1, or Swine Flu. There has since been controversy over the classification of a virus as an organism.

Ultimately, Stoffers ended in first place with $20,311, Romick in second with $5,700, and Vopava in third with $0. Romick, as with all contestants, was guaranteed a cash price of an undisclosed amount.

“A lot of it is about the buzzer,” said Romick. “We all probably knew at least 75 percent of the answers, but you need to be quick to ring in.”

Meanwhile, there was a very high-energy and enthusiastic atmosphere in Council Chambers during the episode’s airing. Approximately 100 students showed up to partake in Romick’s big moment, cheering whenever she answered correctly and, occasionally, booing the other contestants.

Romick was very pleased with the crowd.

“Having so many people there was great. It took away the stress and made it a lot more fun, but it was still really weird to see myself on TV.”