Semifinals: NWU/UMich/Stanford - May 9

Rivalries have been fought everywhere from the hardwood to the gridiron, but here at the University of Southern California, players from 15 prestigious colleges will take each other on in a rivalry of the academic kind.

But more than pride is on the line, as the winner of this two-week tournament will get a berth in the next Tournament of Champions as well as a check with a one followed by five zeroes. The first runner-up will pocket at least $50,000, while the second runner-up will take home a minimum of $25,000. Semifinalists are guaranteed $10,000, whilst there's a minimum of $5000 for participation. As always, any and all winning accrued depends on how far up the ladder a player goes.

We started with 15... now we're down to nine. From there, we cut further to three. Three games and three winners means it's a "win or go home" affair. Cliff Galiher from UCLA and Christine Kennedy from Notre Dame await the winner of this final semifinal...

Dean Malec Northwestern Junior	Pete Troyan Michigan Senior	Craig Boge Stanford Senior

Jeopardy! categories:

Daily Double: $600 Space Exploration. Craig finds it late in the round with $6600 to Dean's $3800 and Pete's $1800. He fronts $1400 on this: this spacecraft whose name is from Greek for "origin" collected solar wine particles & then returned to Earth. "What is Mariner?" Nope, it's Genesis, leaving him with $5200.

At the end of the Jeopardy! round...

Double Jeopardy! categories:

Two categories remain: Turrets Syndrome & the Galen Center. Time to hunt. Dean does and comes up with...

Daily Double #1: $1600 The Galen Center. Dean is the middleman with $7000 to Pete's $3200 and Craig's $11,200. He wagers $2500 on this: Galen might have sworn an oath to this 5th Century BC Greek man he considered the beginning of all medical learning. "Who was Hippocrates?" Correct for $9500!

Daily Double #2: $1600 Turrets Syndrome. With $5200, if Pete wishes to make a move, he better with. Dean still has $9500, and Craig still has $11,200. Pete bets $4000 on this: a castle was built at Villandraut, France for the man who in 1309 moved this office to France for an extended stay. "What is the papacy" Correct for $9200!

At the end of the Double Jeopardy! Round...

Stratton and his pesky dilemma rear their ugly head. This time, it's Dean in the hot seat. Remember, it's essentially an all-or-nothing wager.

Dean wins if: he bets enough to cover double Pete's score ($7301), but enough to ensure that if Craig tries to one-up him and misses, he still comes out on top ($8199). That's the ideal. But in reality, it's more the decision, do I play it safe and bet nothing, or do I go for the throat and bet it all? That's the dilemma.

Pete wins if: Dean and Craig cancel each other out on a wrong answer, while Pete is right with a $3400 bet.

Craig wins if: he bets $8201 and is right.

Final Jeopardy category: LINES FROM PLAYS

Correct response: what is a doll? (the line is from "A Doll's House")

Pete's response: what is a doll's house? WRONG. Wager: $9000. Total: $200.
Dean's response: what is a daughter? WRONG. Wager: $11,100. Total: $0.
Craig's response: what is a doll? RIGHT. Wager doesn't matter.

FINALIST: CRAIG BOGE

Resident Advisor Chico says: This is a case of reading the Final Jeopardy! clue very carefully. That's where Pete made his mistake, and it ends up costing him. Craig, on the other hand, was very meticulous. That'll serve him well, as we move into Finals territory with THESE three players...

Cliff Galiher UCLA Sophomore	Christine Kennedy Notre Dame Freshman	Craig Boge Stanford Senior

It's the Bruins... the Irish... and the Cardinal... for $100,000... Tomorrow at Galen. See you there.