NOHO TEAM IN BOWL FINALS SCIENCE CONTEST DOWN TO BEST 12.

Byline: Bill Hillburg Staff Writer

Defending champion North Hollywood High School brainstormed its way back from the brink of elimination late Sunday night and into today's finals of the National Science Bowl at the National 4-H Conference Center in Chevy Chase, Md.

``We just all sighed with relief when it was over,'' senior Julia Hu of Northridge said moments after NoHo edged by Cookeville, Tenn., to become one of today's 12 finalists.

``I'm glad we got into the finals, but I wish we could have done it an easier way,'' said North Hollywood teacher and coach Len Soloff, who saw his team trounced by Thomas Jefferson Math and Science High School of Fairfax, Va., in the opening match of Sunday night's double elimination round.

NoHo stayed alive in the two-losses-and-you're-out competition by bouncing back to beat Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and then Cookeville.

Hu and Soloff credited junior Edward Marti of Studio City, known for his quick mind and even quicker buzzer hand, with sealing the victory. Buzzing in before the quizmaster was halfway through the question, Marti correctly answered that the combination of the sugar compounds glucose and fructose produces sucrose.

The early going was easy for North Hollywood's five science and mathematics aces. They compiled a 6-1 record in the opening round and won their seven-team division title as the initial field was trimmed from 64 teams to 18 semifinalists. The division title also earned a $1,000 grant for NoHo's science department from the U.S. Department of Energy, sponsor of the National Science Bowl.

``Every team is tough this year, and they're all out to give us a run for our money,'' said team captain Hu, a returnee from last year's title-winning squad.

She credited fellow senior returnee David Lee of Northridge and Marti with ``having the hot hand'' as quizmasters bombarded them with questions about complex mathematical formulas and chemical reactions.

``I just sit back and cringe and worry through every match, but I'm confident that, win or lose, we'll give everyone a real battle,'' said Soloff, who has had his team in training since September.

Soloff went to his bench early and often to shift the expertise of his team as NoHo also swept past squads from Ohio, Texas, Nevada, Colorado and South Carolina. They were edged in the final match of the first round by a private school from Albuquerque, N.M.

NoHo's five-member squad also includes senior Justin ``Justy'' Burdick of Studio City and junior Zara Yazdani of North Hollywood. Four players compete in a match.

``I was very good at science in school, but we never had a chance to show it,'' said Noymi Pumarega-Yazdani, Zara's mother and a nurse at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. ``I think this contest is great, it gives these kids a chance to show what they can do and also to receive some recognition.''

Marti credited his classes in the school's Highly Gifted Magnet program ``with giving me a really strong core of knowledge about the sciences. You can cram for this, but you have to have a solid background first.''

Walter Zeisl, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Department of Water of Power who organized the DWP-sponsored Los Angeles regional Science Bowl competition, said gambling can cost a team dearly.

``But if you don't risk it and jump in there first with the answer you'll never win,'' he said.

Zeisl noted that, in the Jeopardy-style Science Bowl, buzzing in before the quizmaster finishes posing the question and then coming up with a wrong response automatically gives four points to one's opponents. Foes also get an undistributed chance to answer the question for four more points and free shot at a bonus question for another 10 points.

Hollywood edged rival Van Nuys High School in February to earn its fifth straight trip to the national finals. Before taking its first Science Bowl title last year, North Hollywood placed fourth in the 2000 competition and second in 1998 and 1999.

Along with NoHo, teams from the Los Angeles Unified School District have dominated the competition in recent years, with Van Nuys taking top honors in 1995 and Venice High School winning in 1996 and 1997.

Win or lose today, Soloff, like any good coach, is confident he can keep his science juggernaut rolling. Three members of this year's North Hollywood varsity team were on the B-team that placed second to the school's varsity in last year's Los Angeles regional competition. This year's B-team placed fifth in the regionals out of 42 entrants.