Most students dread long nights spent wading through textbooks. But for one student, intense cramming paid off in an unusual way - as a spot on the iconic TV game show "Jeopardy!."

LSA senior Danny Devries appeared on national television Thursday, in the first round of the "Jeopardy!" College Championship.

Devries defeated students from the University of Wisconsin and Tufts University to advance to the next round, racking up $25,011 in the process. The show was taped in April at the University of Wisconsin at Madison's Kohl Center.

The win qualified Devries for the semifinal round, which was also taped last month. The semifinal round, in which Devries was matched against students from Georgetown University and Harvey Mudd College, will air tomorrow night.

Devries said he went through a long process to get on the show, beginning with answering a few questions online and ending with an interview to ensure he wouldn't be awkward in front of the cameras.

He said missing the Michigan football game against the Ohio State University in order to attend the regional trial in Chicago was difficult, but it paid off four months later when he was invited to be on the show.

Devries, who is double majoring in political science and economics, spent a couple of hours on Wikipedia.com in preparation, but that it didn't help "in the least bit."

He said he studied chemistry and tried to memorize the past 18 British monarchs, but when those subjects came up, he wasn't able to answer the questions.

But even hours of studying couldn't have prepared him for what he said was the show's most challenging aspect - pressing the buzzer quickly enough to give the answer.

He said one of the highlights of the experience was meeting Alex Trebek, but he was disappointed when the Emmy-winning host had to ask him what the University's mascot was.

Devries said taping in front of 3,500 people was exciting, but also disheartening.

"They all booed me," Devries said. "Every time I walked on."

When the contestant from the University of Wisconsin got an answer right, the crowd would erupt in cheers, he said.

When he correctly answered a Final Jeopardy question about the Bronze Age and won the game, the boos were almost deafening, Devries said.

"I expected it to be a lot more sedate," he said. "It got so loud I couldn't even hear what Alex Trebek was saying."