The University of Lincoln beat Lancaster in University Challenge this week, after a student admitted he was stunned to get the opportunity to compete.
Lincoln made its first ever appearance on the popular BBC quiz show, taking home a win.
Computer science student and team captain, Sam Orman-Chan, said he “never expected anything to come of it,” after finding out the team had made it through.
“You’re competing with the Russell Groups, you’re competing with the Oxbridges, and you just don’t expect a provincial university to get on it,” he told the BBC.
Joining the 22-year-old in the hot seats were John Clayworth (history), Laura Bruce (conservation of cultural heritage) and Grace Bloomfield (chemistry).
The strong team of four took on Lancaster University in Monday night’s episode.
Lincoln earned its debut slot after an audition in Birmingham, where hopeful contestants had to complete a quiz to test the compatibility of their team.
“The quiz is really tricky,” Sam described. “They had a chat with us all to see how we are as people and to see if we all get on.”
Sam Orman-Chan via Facebook
The group prepared for the show in typical student fashion, by doing weekly pub quizzes and the university bar.
“We all have different specialties. We’re evenly split between humanities and sciences so we have a wide enough gambit of knowledge to cover all bases,” the captain said.
The team’s appearance has already gone down well at the university as he added: “We’ve had a pretty good response… everyone’s been behind us. It’s amazing.”
For Sam, it was a “very scary” experience, although he found inspiration close to home: “It does help that my dad was on The Chase about a decade ago.”
Featured image via Facebook
