W&M alumna wins on Jeopardy!
Will defend title Nov. 6
It’s not uncommon to see William & Mary alumni, faculty or students on Jeopardy!, or even hear the university used as a clue. Yesterday, it was alumna Hillary Huttenhower’s turn to grace the stages of the popular television game show.
Grace it, she did. Aced it, too. Huttenhower ‘05, a material engineer from Manchester, Connecticut, offered the first correct question in the opening Jeopardy round and ended up sweeping the “TV” category and jumping to a $3,000 lead.
Though Huttenhower - a chemistry major and biology minor - didn’t reference the college by name, she did mention her time here during her on-camera chat with the show’s host Alex Trebek, noting that was when she started ballroom dancing.
Her time in Virginia might also have come in handy with a correct response about Shenandoah National Park in the “National Park System” category.
By the end of the Double Jeopardy round Huttenhower had built a $16,200 to $9,900 lead, fending off several “Daily Double” opportunities from her closest competitor.
In the end, the Final Jeopardy category “Artists” posed no difficulty and a healthy wager left Huttenhower the winner with first-day earnings of $19,801. She will return Nov. 6 to defend her title.
Jeopardy! airs locally on Norfolk station WVEC Ch 13 at 7:30 p.m. In other areas, check your local listings for show times.
