Georgian among 90 spellers to make final day of spelling bee

WASHINGTON - His own name a mini-spelling test, Abhijith Eswarappa aced the one that counts, joining 89 other die-hard contestants vying to take home the trophy in the 2002 Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee. <br> <br> Abhijith, a 14-year-old from Memphis, Tenn., who is making his second trip to the finals in as many years, was among the top scorers Wednesday in a 25-word written test that winnowed the field from 175 down to 90 spellers. He got 24 words correct, far better than the 16 required to stay in the running. <br> <br> Heather Buzzard, a 13-year-old home schooler from Peachtree City, also advanced to Round 3. But, Joe Shepard of Waynesboro wasn&#39;t as lucky in an earlier oral round. <br> <br> Abhijith, who tied for seventh place in 2001, survived Round 1 earlier Wednesday by spelling ``enceinte&#39;&#39; (as an adjective, it means ``pregnant;&#39;&#39; as a noun, it&#39;s a castle fortification). <br> <br> The national competition began with a record 250 contestants from 48 states and several U.S. territories. <br> <br> The written test was unprecedented but necessary to shorten the competition from three days to two, organizers said. The 25 words ran the gamut from elementary (``allot,&#39;&#39; ``solvency&#39;&#39;) to advanced (``decoupage&#39;&#39;) to nearly impossible (``geusioleptic,&#39;&#39; ``boswellize,&#39;&#39; ``scagliola&#39;&#39;). <br> <br> The results split the field nearly in two, sending one stricken group quietly sometimes tearfully - into their parents&#39; arms and back to the books for another year, while another group joyfully crowded around one another to claim their prize: a white polo shirt for the final rounds, to be televised live on ESPN, the cable sports network. <br> <br> Most said the exam was tougher than they had anticipated. <br> <br> ``This was the hard part, this test,&#39;&#39; said Michael Zivat, 14, of Chicago, as he looked over the list. ``The oral rounds were easier - you only had one word, and you had time to think it over.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Asked how he did, Michael shook his head. ``Not too good.&#39;&#39; He went back over many of the words, changing the spellings. ``I second-guessed myself.&#39;&#39; He didn&#39;t make it, missing more words than the nine allowed. <br> <br> Ashley Bose, 12, of McAllen, Texas, didn&#39;t make the cut, either, but took it in stride. <br> <br> ``I had it coming,&#39;&#39; she said. ``I didn&#39;t really study too hard.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Abhijith said the words this year seem ``somewhat harder&#39;&#39; than last year&#39;s, but spellers successfully worked their way through all of the following: ``scrobiculate,&#39;&#39; ``agalloch,&#39;&#39; ``nullifidian,&#39;&#39; ``nephrolithotomy,&#39;&#39; ``Nietzschean&#39;&#39; and ``watteau.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Others stumbled on equally tough words: ``soubise,&#39;&#39; ``zaibatsu,&#39;&#39; ``heaume,&#39;&#39; ``thalassocrat,&#39;&#39; ``tetragrammaton,&#39;&#39; ``lauan&#39;&#39; and ``antonomasia.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> This year&#39;s winner takes home $12,000.

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