39. Andrew Rowberg and Danning Lu - Collegiate Bowl Champs

In 2017, there was no bridge club at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Then Andrew Rowberg, a recent PhD graduate in computational material science, came along. Four years later, during which bribery cookies were baked, practice sessions held, and talent developed, the UCSB Overbidders Anonymous emerged victorious in the 2021 Online North American Collegiate Bridge Championships. We're excited to showcase the journey that this UCSB team took from having nothing to winning it all.   Episode Highlights:   2:40- The formation of the UCSB Bridge Club   4:05- How Danning learned bridge   5:34- The pieces of the champion team   12:20- COVID can't stop dedicated college students   13:42- Defeating TST Guest 32 Richard Jeng the Georgia Tech bridge giants   19:10- Freshman clutching it up in the wild Finals match   23:29- Andrew's teaching philosophy   28:00- Now is your perfect chance to hire a collegiate champion with a PhD in computational material science!   33:07- The overbidders in "Overbidders Anonymous" are no longer anonymous   39:30- The universally dreaded Berkeley monsters   45:35- Proof that playing bridge increases your job prospects   48:10- Danning plays the precise system and likes to take fitness   51:23- The expert's advice on forming a collegiate championship team 56:00- The secret ingredient in bridge success: sugar