The MC3E Basketball Challenge

 
Published: 23 May 2011

At the Ponca City YMCA on Sunday, two teams met in a quest for glory, fame, and a rhinestone-bedecked garden gnome. The NASA team, led by Steve “Lightning” Rutledge, took on the DOE team captained by Pavlos “PK” Kollias. The teams, whose names were inspired by the two main collaborating institutions of the MC3E campaign, were comprised of mission scientists, forecasters, graduate students, radar operators, pilots—the list goes on! Both teams exhibited astounding athletic prowess, but not even the 12 UTC NAM could predict Scott Giangrande’s gravity-defying jump shots. Under the watchful eye of referee Jan Nystrom, the teams played two rounds, the final round ending with a score of 31 to 23 for a DOE team victory. Congratulations to all for a game well played!

Submitted by Sarah Bang, MC3E student forecaster, University of Utah.