[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 25 (Wednesday, March 9, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 9, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
  TRIBUTE TO MATT MORRIS: LOUISVILLE NATIVE WINS JEOPARDY TEEN TOURNEY

 Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to a 
young man for his outstanding recent accomplishment. Matt Morris of 
Louisville, KY, recently competed in and won the Jeopardy Teen 
Tournament, and took home $29,601. It gives me great joy to honor this 
fine young man because not only is he a native Louisvillian, but also 
attends Manual High School, my alma mater.
  Matt utilized a combination of intelligence and savvy to come out on 
top of the week-long competition. After first being selected from over 
1,000 applicants, Matt outlasted 14 other competitors to reach the 
final round. Although he was second after the first round of the 
finals, he came back and won with some aggressive wagering on the final 
question.
  This is not the first time Matt has fared successfully in this type 
of competition. He has guided Manual's quick-recall team to the 
Jefferson County Public Schools championship several times. He has 
applied to several top colleges and plans to use some of his winnings 
to help pay his way through school.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring this impressive 
accomplishment. In addition, I ask that an article from the March 2, 
1994, Courier Journal be inserted at this point in the Record.
  The article follows:

Manual's Matt Morris: Who Won Fame, Cash and More Through ``Jeopardy'' 
                             Teen Tourney?

                          (By Gayle Pressman)

       Ever since Manual High School senior Matt Morris went on 
     the ``Jeopardy'' television show in January--even before 
     millions saw him become the 1994 Teen Champion and win 
     $29,601 on last week's taped show--the eastern Jefferson 
     Countian has been a celebrity.
       Matt has heard from relatives and strangers nationwide, 
     he's taken some good-natured razzing by the Jeopardy 
     production crew and his friends; and he's been interviewed by 
     radio, television and newspaper reporters.
       He's handled it all as he's handled every other academic 
     honor in his life--with incredible cool.
       ``I was surprised the media made such a big deal about my 
     being on the show,'' said the state's second-ever Governor's 
     Cup champion in two categories. ``I just wanted to give it my 
     best shot and have fun.''
       That's Matt's approach to most everything, said his father, 
     Jack Morris.
       ``Judy and I are real proud of Matt, and we get excited. 
     He's always telling us to calm down, even when the phone 
     keeps ringing; and there's a legal pad full of messages'' 
     from well-wishers.
       Matt, who turned 18 between the ``Jeopardy'' tournament's 
     taping Jan. 3 and 4 and its airing the past two weeks, said 
     his calm nature helped him win, even after he finished second 
     in the first half of Thursday's and Friday's finals.
       ``I didn't get rattled when I got behind,'' he said. ``I 
     was excited about being on TV, but I've been a lot more 
     nervous with little competitions without cameras.''
       In Friday's championship game, Matt risked $12,201 of his 
     $13,800 total for the day on the final question. ``It was a 
     once in a lifetime thing, so I wagered a lot.''
       If talent and luck were his, Matt reasoned, his cumulative 
     total from Thursday's $3,600 score and Friday's outcome would 
     give him the championship by $1.
       He figured right, even after all three finalists came up 
     with the right question--`Who is Scopes?'--for the answer 
     ``In 1970 he made his first visit to a Tennessee classroom 
     since his conviction 45 years earlier.''
       ``I knew I had won, so I made a poker face,'' Matt said.
       Matt, who was notified by postcard that he'd been chosen as 
     a contestant after he auditioned late last year in Orlando, 
     Fla., was accompanied to ``Jeopardy's'' Hollywood studios by 
     his mother and his older brother, Jonathan, a former academic 
     scholar at Manual and Matt's No. 1 cheerleader.
       His sister Ashley, a Manual sophomore, and father waited 
     anxiously at home, off Brownsboro Road near Zachary Taylor 
     National Cemetery.
       Now the family is waiting to find out whether Matt will 
     compete in ``Jeopardy's'' $100,000 adult Tournament of 
     Champions next fall. His win put him in line for a berth in 
     the 15-seat contest, depending on how many five-time-
     undefeated champions the show has by then.
       But Matt isn't wasting time wondering about that. With help 
     from his winnings, he'll be majoring in math next fall at one 
     of four colleges he still has to decide on--Rice, Duke, Yale 
     or Princeton.
       Nevertheless, he'll ``always remember the teen tournament. 
     I wanted to be on Jeopardy since I was 13.''

                          ____________________