Texas Tech University. Their middle name is ‘tech’, so it’s no surprise that they’ve been fielding not one, but two teams in the last three Winter Classic cluster competitions. Their teams, dubbed Matador and Red Raider, have been strong in past competitions – just not at the same time.
In 2022, Team Red Raider notched a third-place finish (and campus cluster competition hegemony) with Team Matador lagging in fifth. In 2023, the Matadors took third while the Red Raiders languished in seventh (bragging rights lost).
Something has to give.
At the time of this interview, both teams had posted very good LINPACK scores with the Matadors slightly ahead with 99.86 points and the Red Raiders barely behind with a 96.10 score. The Matadors held serve in HPCG, winning the event and adding a 100 points to their total. The Red Raiders were hot on their trail, posting a score of 96.18
In the video below, we meet each team, tell them about their scores on the first competition module, and try to stir up bad feelings between them. We meet the coach of both teams, PhD candidate Michael Beebe, who was a big part of the 2022 TTU Red Raider team as a competitor.
Employers take note: in all of our team interviews, we ask the students about their future career interests and plans. You might find your next great intern or full-time entry level team member from their ranks.
Learn a bit more about the Matadors on their 2024 Winter Classic homepage.
Stay tuned, still a lot more to come in the competition!