Nemesis Sweeps the Seneca District

After another exciting two days of competition, Robbinsville High School FIRST Robotics Team 2590 Nemesis emerged as victors at the Seneca District Event, and as proud recipients of the Engineering Inspiration Award… for the “FIRST” time in Nemesis’ eight year history! The Seneca District Event is an annual competition hosted by Team 1647, the Iron Devils, at Seneca High School. After a tough win at Hatboro-Horsham two weeks prior, the team was anxious to see if their repairs to the robot’s battered frame and intake would hold out. And they certainly did, as Nemesis’ robot, Daedalus, maintained a number one ranking throughout the Qualifying Rounds.

Meanwhile, back in the pits, the Business and Build Team members fielded questions in numerous interviews with their respective judges, seeking to win awards for their creative engineering, world-class marketing and finance strategies, and extensive community outreach efforts. The judges, who returned to speak to the team multiple times, showed a great deal of interest in Nemesis.

Of the experience, first-time Marketing Team member Sophie Billings said, “It’s not every day that you get to be a part of a team like this. Being able to say that I helped win a prestigious award like the Engineering Inspiration Award is incredible.”

During Alliance Selection, Nemesis had their pick of teams, being ranked first during qualifications. They chose FRC teams 365 and 1626, the Miracle Workerz (MOE Robotics) and Falcon Robotics, who had both demonstrated innovative designs and clever gameplay strategies earlier in the event. MOE’s robot had a remarkable high goal shooting ability, even in autonomous mode, while Falcon Robotics’ robot was capable of scaling the tower and earning a major bonus at the end of the match.

Skillfully overcoming the two alliances faced in the quarterfinals and semifinals, Nemesis’ alliance looked ahead to a tough matchup in the finals where they stood against FRC 1640 SaBOTage and their alliance partners the Titanium Knights (FRC 6203) and SRNJ Rambotics (FRC 4573). SaBOTage and their allies made a formidable trio, twice setting a new high score in the semifinal rounds. It looked to be a nail-biting finale! In the finals, which are best of three, Nemesis and the red alliance rose to the challenge and won the first round, but the blue alliance came back in round two with a win of their own. Neck and neck, the teams prepared for the tiebreaker as the spectators watched with bated breath. The red alliance triumphed! Nemesis and their partners set a new high score of 179 points in the final match of the day to take the win.

“When the final match score was displayed and finalized, I was overflowing with emotions from the excitement and anticipation of our victory to the joy of our success, and finally the pride of knowing I was involved with such a wonderful team,” enthused junior Build Team member Charlie D’Amico.

In the awards ceremony, the team was honored with the prestigious Engineering Inspiration Award by the judges that had interviewed them in the pits, to commend their success and outreach efforts in spreading engineering throughout the community. Furthermore, Team Advisor Joy Wolfe, who has been the backbone of Team 2590 since its inception, was awarded the Woodie Flowers Nomination in recognition of her work with the team and the FIRST Community. Nemesis enjoyed a joyous team dinner after the event, and looks forward to competing at their next competition, the South Florida Regional in West Palm Beach, Florida, on March 31st-April 2nd. Wish them luck!

Nemesis would like to thank their sponsors: Robbinsville Board of Education, NAVAIR, Bristol-Myers Squibb, CCL Label, NY Society of Cosmetic Chemists, Siemens, Lockheed Martin, Investors Bank, RAS, Robbinsville Education Association, EAG, Princeton Sports & Family Medicine, McGraw-Hill Financials, Robbinsville Education Foundation, Gilbane, Coldwell Banker, Carfaro Fencing, DesignTree, Triangle Copy, & GrabCad. For additional information, please contact FRC 2590 at frc2590@gmail.com.