After competing in the teen tournament of “Jeopardy,” Hannah Nekritz ’23 was invited to participate in Jeopardy’s first-ever high school reunion tournament.
Nekritz, who is from Connecticut and is majoring in neuroscience, was invited to compete in Jeopardy’s first ever high school reunion tournament that started airing on Feb. 20 and is set to conclude on March 9. Her appearance on the show received attention from Brandeis’ community, Jeopardy fan sites and newspapers in Hannah’s hometown.
In an interview with The Brandeis Hoot, Nekritz compared and contrasted her experiences at the high school reunion tournament versus the teen tournament, saying, “One of the main differences this time was that I came into the competition knowing the other players. We’d competed together four years ago, and became close as a result. So it was very special to get to reunite with everyone again back in the same place. Another big difference was the change in hosts. Last time I was on the show, Alex Trebek was still hosting. And while I’ve definitely missed seeing him on the show, Mayim Bialik was such a lovely person, as well as a great host.” Nekritz also noted that, ironically, this did feel like a high school reunion to her, as she was able to compete and catch up with her opponents from the teen tournament after four years.
Nekritz also touched on her experience competing in the first-ever “Jeopardy” high school reunion tournament. She stated, “It was a very surreal experience. This isn’t something the show had ever done before, and I was not expecting it at all when I first got the email from the producers. It took some time for me to wrap my head around the idea that I’d be going back to the show, when we’d previously expected that we couldn’t come back on ‘Jeopardy’ after doing the teen tournament.”
When asked what her goals were for this competition, Nekritz noted that she since she had the chance to come back on the show, she wanted to make sure she enjoyed her time playing, seeing old faces, and that she “brushed up on different subjects to make sure I’d be able to go out and answer plenty of questions.”
Finally, Nekritz commented on her favorite aspect of competing in the high school reunion competition. She highlighted that, “[It was] getting to return to the ‘Jeopardy’ stage with the same people as four years ago. I gained so many new friendships doing the teen tournament in high school so it was incredibly special to get to celebrate those friendships again on ‘Jeopardy’ together.”
Nekritz competed in the competition last month in Culver City, CA, and her appearance aired March 2. The final scores for the game were Hannah Nekritz: Round 1 score: $1,400, Round 2 score: $9,000, and final score: $0. She took on Maggie Brown, a sophomore at University of West Florida who finished with a Round 1 score of -$400, Round 2 score: -$1,600, and final score: -$1,600. Finally, contestant and winner of the round Caleb Richmond, a sophomore at Georgetown University, finished Round 1 with $12,418, Round 2: $23,618, and a final score of $29,235. Nekritz’s performance and participation in “Jeopardy” are celebrated by the Brandeis community.
More information on the current standings and games of the “Jeopardy” high school reunion tournament can be found at Jeopardy’s website. The finals will be aired March 8 and 9. The final contestants include Jackson Jones, a junior at Vanderbilt University, Maya Wright, a senior at Emory University and Justin Bolsen, a first-year at Brown University.
