Nemesis Brings Home Another Blue Banner

The speedy robot streaked across the field as it strategically placed power cubes onto the switch and the scale. The bell rang: time for the teleoperated period. The crowd cheered as the robot gained ownership of all three devices. The bell rang once more: endgame. The robot grew taller until it latched on to the metal rod. It let down its wings, allowing the other two robots to climb with it. Will they make it in time? The three robots climbed into the air with seconds to spare. The crowd went wild!

Easter weekend, Robbinsville High School's FIRST Robotics Team 2590, Nemesis, attended the FIRST Mid-Atlantic Hatboro-Horsham District Event. After a great win at the Hudson Valley Regional under their belts, Nemesis craved another victory. On Friday March 30th, Nemesis, along with 32 other FIRST Mid-Atlantic teams began the 64 qualification matches.

Behind the scenes members of the Marketing and Build Teams spoke with judges competing for business and technical awards. Alum Jenna Mollica visited the pits, reminiscing about her time on Nemesis.

Undefeated, Nemesis flew through qualification matches and earned the first ranked seed position. Nemesis invited the second ranked seed, FRC 25, Raider Robotix from North Brunswick NJ and FRC 6226, the Blue Devils from Burlington NJ, to join their alliance.

The Nemesis led alliance remained undefeated through quarter and semi finals. Final 1 commenced with the alliance gaining control of both switches and the scale. Throughout the match, the scale and switches continued to alternate between alliances. Finally, after the incredibly close match, the Nemesis and their alliance partners came out on top with a score of 259 to 244.

As Nemesis and their alliance prepared for the next match, the crowd waited in anticipation. “And the winner of Final 2 is… the Blue Alliance!” The Master of Ceremonies announced. Nemesis’ crowd of red sighed in disappointment. “One more match!” The drive team chanted, raising the crowd’s spirit. “3, 2, 1. Power Up!” Nemesis’ robot, Fury, raced across the field as the alliance gained control of our switch and the scale. As endgame began, Fury let down its award winning wings as FRC 6226 drove on. Earning 60 points for the red alliance, Fury climbed the scale and beat the boss! The crowd roared, and Nemesis took home their second blue banner of the season.

The ending of the event left everyone on the edge of their seats. Freshman build member, Kavya Velliangiri said, “The final nerve wracking feeling as the end result screen was displayed was something I won’t ever forget.”

The excitement didn’t conclude with the matches. Nemesis was presented with the Industrial Design Award, which celebrates form and function in an efficiently designed machine that effectively addresses the game challenge. The team hopes to keep the momentum of their season going as they compete at the FIRST Mid-Atlantic District Championship!