CofC Computer Science Department Chair Sabastian van Delden with winning team members at the ACM International Collegiate Programing Contest Southeast Region competition.

CofC Computer Science Department Chair Sebastian van Delden with winning team members at the ACM International Collegiate Programing Contest Southeast Region competition.

Two teams from the College of Charleston had impressive finishes in the recent ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC) Southeast Region competition, which was hosted by the College on Nov. 5, 2016. The ICPC is the premiere global computer programming competition conducted by and for the world ‘s universities.

The team of Blaine Billings, Scott White and Griffin Hiers placed first in the region and fifth overall, while the team of Megan Landau, Alex Swanson and Anthony Morrell placed second in region and 19th overall.

RELATED: Read how freshman Blaine Billings is making name for himself at the College.

The College competed against 71 teams from 25 universities in the regional contest. Teams included Mississippi State University, University of Georgia, University of Southern Mississippi, University of North Florida and Emory University.

“This is an amazing accomplishment seeing that we had three first semester freshmen on the teams, and none of these students had competed before,” said CofC Computer Science Department Chair Sebastian van Delden. “We are so proud of Blaine, Scott, Griffin, Alex, Anthony and Megan. Many thanks to  Jim Bowring,  Anthony Leclerc, Marilee Smith, Melissa Ingersoll, and Callum Brill for all their hard work in coordinating the competition site. Also a big thanks to our student volunteers Tia Curry, William Blanchett, Elaina Cole, and Josh Fernandes.”