Kermin Fleming Advances to Jeopardy Semifinals

Kermin Fleming will appear in the Jeopardy semifinal round on Friday, Nov. 19.

Carnegie Mellon electrical and computer engineering junior Kermin Fleming took one step closer to a $100,000 grand prize on Wednesday, Nov. 10, when he defeated contestants from Davidson College and the University of Maryland in the opening quarterfinal round of Jeopardy's College Championship tournament. The semifinal round of the popular television game show begins Wednesday, Nov. 17.

Jeopardy's College Championships were taped at the University of Pittsburgh's Petersen Events Center last month. The tournament airs at 7 p.m., weekdays through Tuesday, Nov. 23.

The tournament field includes 15 college students from across the country. Three students compete against each other in quarterfinal rounds before the semifinal rounds begin on Nov. 17. The finals will be held on Nov. 22 and 23.

In addition to Carnegie Mellon, Davidson and Maryland, schools represented are the University of Pittsburgh, Stanford University, St. John's University, the University of Missouri, West Virginia University, Georgetown University, Columbia University, Williams College, the University of Texas, Dickinson College, Florida State University and the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.

Fleming, who Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter Rob Owen called a "Jeopardy player to keep your eye on," earned a spot on the show in tryouts at Carnegie Mellon on Sept. 29. He's the second Carnegie Mellon student to make it to the Jeopardy college tournament in the last three years. Jara Dorsey, a voice performance major who graduated in 2003, advanced to the final round in 2002.

For more on Jeopardy visit http://www.jeopardy.com.

Bruce Gerson