The Sigmatizers faculty team has yet again claimed the Phi Kappa Phi honor society Quiz Bowl championship title for the third year in a row after overtaking Team Delt, the student finalists, in the last round of the competition.

The Sigmatizers team members consisted of faculty and staff of the department of English, as well as advisors and members of Sigma Tau Delta, the English honor society. Associate Professor Dr. George Dorrill, Administrative Assistant Dustin Cotton and instructors Christoph Genre and Sherri Craig made up this year's team.

"It seems like the questions were harder this year," said Dorrill. "The student teams were a lot better this year too. They were very

While the team has won the competition twice before, some parts of the contest were a challenge.

"We hate math questions. We're English people," said Genre. "Every year the pressure seems to increase just a little bit

After claiming the championship title, the team was presented with a trophy by President John L. Crain. The Sigmatizers, along with their final round opponent Team Delt, received $100 for reaching the finalist spot of their division.

A total of eight teams competed in the competition, which lasted from 2 p.m. to approximately 5:30 p.m. In the past, the competition was held in the Student Union Ballroom to accommodate Fanfare events. However, the 2011 competition returned to its original location in the Student Union Theater.

Dr. Joseph Burns, professor of communication, mediated the questions to the teams, while a panel of three faculty and staff members judged the answers. Hundreds of questions were asked over the course of the competition and covered a variety of topics such as art history, famous walls, current events, sports and video games.

"This is the 10th anniversary of the competition and we found the questions to be much harder," said Dr. Joan Faust, professor of English and advisor for Phi Kappa Phi. "We were very surprised by their difficulty. Dr. Burns and the judges had trouble with pronouncing some of the

At the end of the competition and award presentations, representatives from the Phi Kappa Phi national office in Baton Rouge pitted their own smarts against the Sigmatizers and lost.