Pitt Tandem Storms U.S. Naval Academy
The WPDU's team of super sophomores, Stephanie Luczajko (left) and Jennifer Sweeney (right), reached the sweet sixteen elimination round at the debate tournament hosted by the U.S. Naval Academy last weekend in Annapolis, Maryland.
After stumbling out of the gates on the first day of the tournament, Luczajko and Sweeney reeled off four consecutive victories in day two, defeating in succession James Madison University, George Mason University, Liberty University, and Richmond University. "They were absolutely resilient," said assistant coach and graduate teaching assistant Brent Saindon. "They really pulled it together to win four in a row."
Luczajko and Sweeney used a combination of solid research and strategy during the tournament. Against James Madison, they successfully argued that the United States should increase family planning assistance to Afghanistan, drawing upon area studies experts and philosophers to make the case. Versus Richmond, the pair deployed research from feminist international theorists to show that the Richmond team's affirmative plan for a "grand bargain" with Iran was doomed to fail, since it bought into negotiations that framed diplomacy in a regressive us/them binary.
"This tournament was unusually difficult, with teams from Texas and Georgia in the field," said Sweeney. Also representing the WPDU at the Naval Academy tournament was sophomore Sarah Banducci, who debated with Carnegie Mellon University student Casey Brander.