A four-person team of students will represent Providence College at the national College Bowl tournament in St. Paul, Minn., from April 25-27, 2008. PC advanced by capturing the Region I College Bowl Championship on February 23.

Edward W. Stravato '08, of Johnston, R.I.; Jeremiah A. Begley '10, of St. Albans, Vt.; Sean Olvany '09, of Wilmette, Ill.; and Joseph Ritinski '09, of North Wales, Pa.; comprise the all-star team. This marks the second straight year, and the third time in the past decade, that a team from PC will compete in the national tournament.

College Bowl is a question-and-answer game that combines academic, popular culture, current events, and sports trivia in a format that emphasizes quick recall. "The Varsity Sport of the Mind," as it is referred to, has a long history on television, radio, and college campuses.

PC made it to the national competition by defeating four other schools in the regional section of the competition at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). There, the College defeated teams from Northeastern University, the University of Connecticut, Stonehill College, and the University of Hartford.

The members of the team that competed at MIT were chosen after their exemplary showings during the College's tournament, which was held on February 9th and featured more than 25 teams.

They were selected by administrators and staff members of the Office of Student Activities-Involvement-Leadership (S.A.I.L.)/Slavin Center. One S.A.I.L. administrator, assistant director Todd Incantalupo, served as the campus tournament director and will be accompanying the students to Minnesota.

In total, 16 teams will be representing their college or university at the national tournament, which will be hosted by Macalester College. Teams will arrive on April 25, in time for the opening dinner and a team meeting, and games will begin that night. 

On April 26, the games will continue throughout the day, concluding a round robin portion of the tournament. On Sunday, the playoffs will be held in the morning and an awards brunch concludes the weekend's activities.

"Going to the national competition is very exciting," said Begley, the only player on the team who represented the College last year. "Last year, we were the randomly selected wild-card team, but this year…We really feel like we deserve to be going."

For more information on the College Bowl, go to www.collegebowl.com.