Big Trophy Haul For WPDU at Richmond Tourney
William Pitt Debating Union teams posted strong results in multiple divisions at the University of Richmond's Jay Weinberg Autumn Debate Tournament, October 11-13, 2008.
Juniors Stephanie Luczajko and Jennifer Sweeney rattled off six consecutive preliminary round victories in the open division, where they advanced all the way to the tournament quarterfinals. John Karlovic and Michael Mangus also came up big in the open division, while in junior varsity, first-year phenoms Pat Naples and Rebar Niemi qualified for the elimination rounds by pulling out a clutch victory over NYU in the final preliminary round.
"We're starting to consistently close the door on teams we can beat," Luczajko said after the tournament. Luczajko and Sweeney drew from political scientist Murray Edelman to challenge opposing team's plans for agricultural reform, arguing that the plans were built on faulty philosophical assumptions. Entering the elimination rounds as the fourth seed, Luczajko and Sweeney defeated the University of Binghamton in the octafinals, then dropped a tight 2-1 decision to George Mason in the quarterfinals.
Advocating a plan calling for the U.S. to increase its commitment to agricultural farming of perennial switchgrass, Karlovic and Mangus defeated James Madison, John Carroll, George Mason, and Liberty twice in the preliminary rounds. In the octafinal elimination round, they were bested by Towson University.
At the Richmond tournament, the Panthers' trophy haul also included numerous individual speaker awards. In the open division, Luczajko notched fourth speaker honors, while Sweeney finished 13th and Mangus 14th. In junior varsity, Jeff Kurr joined Niemi among the top ten speakers.