Mary Washington Qualifies Two Teams To the NDT

Over the weekend of February 24^th and 25^th, the Mary Washington Debate team hosted the District VII National Debate Qualifying tournament. The Qualifying tournament determines which teams from each region of the country are able to compete at the National Tournament which is held in at the end of the year. This year the tournament will be held in Dallas, Texas in late March.

At the tournament, both the team of Kevin and Matt, and Nick and I were able to qualify for the National Debate tournament by finishing in the Top 8. Matt and Kevin finished with a record of 6 wins and 2 losses and were fourth out of all the competitors. Nick and I completed the tournament with an undefeated record of 8 wins and 0 losses and finished in 1st place.

In conjunction with the District Tournament there was also a novice tournament that the schools novice teams competed in. The team of Amanda Gardner and Cassie Carlton competed in. Cassie and Amanda won the novice division and Amanda receive the honor of top speaker. Kacie Shantz and Farrah Tek also had a strong showing.

The success of the competitors wouldn’t have been possible with out the help of the entire team.

Matt, Kevin and Scott discuss strategy with Adrienne.

Northwestern Tournament

Mary Washington sent three teams to Chicago to participate in the Owen L. Coon Memorial Tournament at Northwestern. The teams participating were Matt and Kevin, Scott and Will, and Nick and I. The team left on Friday morning and flew into bitterly cold Chicago at about 6 p.m. on Friday. All three teams finished with a record of four wins and four losses. Although the results were not up to some hopes, the tournament included one of the strongest fields of the year, and offered good practice for the upcoming District VII tournament which will be held at Mary Washington.















The team waits for pairings at 6:30.

Strong Showing at Navy

A week after winning the George Mason tournament, the Mary Washington debate team had another strong showing at the Naval Debate Tournament. The Naval Debate Tournament took place at the United States Naval Academy over the weekend of January 26th, 27th and 28th. The team sent six teams to the tournament, three in varsity, two in novice, and one in junior varsity.

In the novice division, the team of Cassie and Amanda finished the preliminary rounds with a record of five wins and one loss, and received the second and third speaker awards. The second novice team of Farrah and Kacie also did well defeating a team from the University of Florida who are the reigning football and basketball national champions. In the elimination rounds, Cassie and Amanda finished in second place.















In the junior varsity division, the team of Dorrier Coleman and Jason Martin finished undefeated, and received first and second speaker. In the elimination rounds, Jason and Dorrier advanced to the semifinals before losing to Clarion University on a 2-1 decision.















(2nd Speaker, Dorrier Coleman)

In the varsity division, all three teams reached the elimination rounds. The team of Matt Struth and Kevin Kallmyer was 5-1, and Nick Ryan and I were 4-2. Scott Berry and Will Collins began the tournament 3-1 but were unable to debate the final two rounds or their elimination round due to illness. In the elimination rounds, Nick and I reached the quarterfinals after defeating James Madison in the octofinals, losing to the eventual champions from Wake Forest. Matt and Kevin reached the semifinals, defeating both Liberty and Boston College only to lose the same Wake Forest team. Nick received tenth speaker, and Matt received second speaker out of eighty competitors.















(The Former "A Team")















(Matt and Kevin preparing for semis)














(Nick trying to look important)

Mary Washington Wins George Mason Tournament

The Mary Washington debate team won the George Mason College Tournament this past weekend. The George Mason tournament took place over the weekend of January 19th to January 21st, and fielded 23 teams in the varsity division and 11 in the novice division.

In the varsity division, Mary Washington claimed four out of the top five seeds with the teams of Scott Berry and Will Collins, and Matt Struth and Kevin Kallmyer finishing undefeated. In the elimination rounds, Jason Martin and Leslie Ogburn reached the quarterfinals, losing a close round to Georgetown. In the two semifinals debates, Scott and Will defeated Georgetown's top team and advanced to finals. Nick Ryan and I hit the team of Matt and Kevin and closed out the other semifinal debate.

In the novice division, the team of Cassandra Carlton and Amanda Gardner finished 5-1 and reached the semifinals.

Matt Struth and Kevin Kallmyer take Second

Cassie and Amanda are working hard in a practice debate

George Mason HS Tournament Day 2

The George Mason high school tournament ended yesterday with Stone Bridge SH defeating the team of Cathedral Prep RL on a 2-1 decision. The Junior Varsity division was won by Blacksburg High school and the Novice division was won by Wilson high school. The best varsity debater of the tournament based on speaker points was Nitin Kapania from Blacksburg.