MSJ Math Club Finds Success at Stanford Math Tournament

By Gaurasundara Amarnani and Fiona Yang

On April 12, MSJ Math Club competed at the Stanford Math Tournament, one of the largest and most prestigious annual math contests in the US. This year, MSJ Math Club sent two teams of six competitors, MSJ A and MSJ B. Many members placed in the competition’s honorable mention, or top 25%, and distinguished honorable mention, or top 10%, for both individual and team rounds. Notably, both A and B Teams placed distinguished honorable mention in the power and guts round. 

The Stanford Math Tournament consists of three team rounds and a set of individual rounds based on subject-based tests. The power round features a proof-based examination where teams focus on a usually unconventional math topic, like game theory or number systems. The short answer round includes 15 standard competition-style problems with a 50-minute limit, testing core high school math topics. Meanwhile, the Guts round contains eight sets of four problems. Teams need to complete each Guts set before moving onto the next, and the problems increase in both difficulty and point-values. Finally, contestants compete in an individual round, choosing two subjects to take. The offered subjects are discrete, algebra, calculus, and geometry. 

To prepare for the Stanford Math Tournament, the MSJ teams focused on speed and accuracy by practicing publicly released problems from previous Stanford Math Tournaments. Their efforts culminated in strong performances in both individual and team events. For the individual category of discrete mathematics, Co-President Senior Patrick Chu, Treasurer Sophomore Aniket Mangalampalli, and Junior Zhixing Tang earned honorable mentions. Additionally, Sophomore Preston Hu and Vice President Junior Jeffrey Li placed distinguished honorable mention in algebra and calculus respectively. “The most successful part of the competition was the power round … [because] we were top 25% in the power round … It was the first one of the day, so it was a good way to start off,” Secretary Junior Advaith Mopuri said. For general competitions, MSJ Math Club highlighted team spirit as its key focus. “I hope that the future people, because I know there’s a lot of smart and brilliant people out there, take being part of a team as serious as being an individual because I know right now, [MSJ] is all about competitiveness,” Mangalampalli said.

The Stanford Math Tournament was a unique opportunity for MSJ Math Club members to delve deeper into the domain of mathematics and strengthen teamwork. “You don’t get to go to that many college competitions in your entire math career, so it’s a good team experience. Just have fun, then you can learn something,” Mopuri said. 

Looking ahead, MSJ Math Club hopes to continue competing at a high level against other schools at tournaments like the CalTech Math Meet and Berkeley Math Tournament. The club remains dedicated to pushing their limits and displaying MSJ excellence in future competitions. “Being together with hundreds, and sometimes thousands of people who share the same interests and passions as you, truly is an incredible experience and provides an opportunity to meet so many new people you’re probably compatible with,” Hu said.