39. Andrew Rowberg and Danning Lu - Collegiate Bowl Champs

The Setting Trick: Conversations with World Class Bridge Players

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