MSU student advances to 'Jeopardy!' semifinals

After her win in the quarterfinals of the “2008 Jeopardy! College Championship” on Friday, Tara Franey, a biosystems engineering senior, is now one step closer to the $100,000 grand prize as she moves on to the semifinals.

Nine students will compete in three episodes for a place in the two-game final match this week, according to the Jeopardy! Web site.

The tournament was pretaped April 11 and 12 at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. The first episode aired May 5, and one student will take home the cash in the final episode Friday. Even after spending time shooting promotional videos and taking pictures, Franey said it took her a while to get her head around her victory and her time sharing the stage with Alex Trebek.

“It was kind of surreal,” she said.

Franey said she had a support system of family and friends who were present at the taping.

“They were pretty excited, and they were nervous for me, but the fact that I won made it that much better,” Franey said.

Danny Devries, an economics and political science junior at the University of Michigan, also competed on the show and advanced to the semifinals during his win Thursday.

Devries said he and Franey’s final places in the competition are only known to them and those affiliated with the show because they are under a tight contract.

Devries beat out students from Tufts University, Harvard University, Georgetown University and University of Wisconsin.

“It was a great feeling,” he said. “Initially I felt like I didn’t deserve to be there because everyone was so smart, so it felt good to win.”

Devries said he and Franey spent a lot of time together because they had to spend the whole day with the other contestants in the green room until their episode was taped.

Devries said Franey was one of the most unique students in the competition, and that she represented MSU well.

Devries also had some fans in the audience.

“My grandma and sister were crying which was pretty funny, and I pointed that out to Alex Trebek on stage,” he said.

Franey’s father, Terrence, said his family made signs that said “Have Fun Tara,” to show their support.

“It was very exciting,” he said. “It was as exciting as any basketball game I’ve seen. There was uncertainty, nerves, and lots of ups-and-downs.”