Members of the 2011-12 UW Debate Team
The University of Wyoming debate team has just wrapped up the end of their season with some intense competitions during the months of February and March, culminating in impressive performances at the national championship tournaments.
UW Debate competed in two tournaments during the month of February: the University of Texas tournament and our regional district qualifying tournament in Ogden, Utah. Three two-person debate teams competed for Wyoming at the UT tournament; juniors Amy Pauli (Green River) and Jared Fanning (Cheyenne); junior Kacey Ballard (Green River) and freshman Mary Marcum (Omaha); and sophomore Ben Berry and freshman Akash Gondalia, both from Cheyenne. Each team fell short of advancing to the elimination rounds, but was still successful in posting several key victories against Harvard, James Madison University, Oregon, Macalester College, Southern Methodist, UT-Dallas, Kansas State, and Missouri State.
Two weeks later in Ogden, Wyoming debaters competed in a regional competition to decide what teams from our debate district (District 2) would have the honor of competing in the elite National Debate Tournament in Atlanta, Georgia. Junior Kathleen Bouzis (Omaha) and sophomore Peter Steiner (Fort Collins) narrowly missed advancing to the elimination rounds after posting victories over Gonzaga University and Weber State. Ballard and Marcum also were edged out by Whitman College after beating Idaho State and a second Whitman team. Two UW debate teams advanced to the elimination rounds. Berry and Gondalia squared off in the first elimination round against Gonzaga, defeating them on a 2-1 decision. In the next round, Berry and Gondalia locked out a bracket with Fanning and Pauli, with the latter advancing as the higher seed. That set up Fanning and Pauli to debate in the final round to qualify to the NDT by squaring off with Weber State's top team. Fanning and Pauli were victorious on a unanimous decision and punched their ticket to Atlanta. With a field of only 78 teams from the entire country, qualifying for the NDT is enormously difficult and was a huge honor. It was the 27th NDT that Wyoming has attended and the 9th consecutive one. While Fanning and Pauli were the most successful, it was truly a team effort to get them there; every UW debater buckled down and worked hard to accomplish the squad's goal.
During the month of March, UW debate attended their two national championship tournaments. At the National Debate Tournament, Fanning and Pauli hit the stiff competition head on. While the duo had a losing record, they were able to pull off split decisions against Gonzaga University and Towson University. Their real success came at the Cross-Examination Debate Association's national championship tournament hosted by the University of Oklahoma. With a field of over 150 teams, many of whom were also in NDT elimination rounds, CEDA Nationals is a true test of a debater's mettle. Wyoming had 5 teams in the hunt.
Fanning and Pauli culminated their season by advancing to the elimination rounds after defeating Louisville, Missouri State, Western Connecticut, the City University of New York and Cal State Fullerton. In the elimination rounds, they defeated district rival Idaho State before being eliminated by Wichita State in the second elim round. Ballard and Marcum also had a huge tournament which included wins against San Diego State, Pittsburgh, North Texas and Kansas City Kansas Community College. A huge win for them occurred in the preliminaries against Whitman College, a team that would go on to the final round of the tournament; Ballard and Marcum handed them their only preliminary round loss. Kacey and Mary would advance to the elimination rounds before being put out of the tournament by Rochester University.
Three other Wyoming teams fell short of advancing to the elimination rounds but still had important victories. Berry and Gondalia were victorious against Western Connecticut, Eastern Washington, Bard College and Illinois State. Bouzis and Steiner posted wins over New York University, Rochester, and the United States Military Academy. Finally, freshman Bethany Jones (Green River) and sophomore Gordon Dobbs (Cheyenne) chipped in ballots over Western Connecticut and Bard College.
In non-debate news, the team hosted a co-ed dodgeball tournament the first weekend in March. The ‘Dodge Hunger Dodgeball Tournament' was held to collect canned foods for Interfaith Good Samaritan, a local Laramie mission for the needy. Six 5-person teams attended the first (hopefully annual) event, helping UW debate collect over 110 cans of food for the mission, a great turnout for the first year. We hope to expand the event and make it a regular feature of campus life.
After graduating 5 senior members of the team last year, UW debaters had big shoes to fill for such a young team. Through their hard work and dedication, these kids were tremendously successful and made huge strides as individual competitors and as a team. We are now preparing for a challenging off-season where we will transition to an entirely digital form of research and evidence filing. It will likely be a bumpy road, but this season has shown that UW debate is on a promising track and that big things are on the horizon.
The University of Wyoming debate team has just wrapped up an intense month of January, attending 5 tournaments around the country and with the entire squad participating in over 100 debates.
While most students were enjoying their winter break from school, UW debate was in full-force at back-to-back tournaments in Dallas, Texas. With nearly 80 teams from schools all over the country in attendance, the competition was fierce. Juniors Amy Pauli (Green River) and Jared Fanning) achieved a winning record and narrowly missed advancing to the elimination rounds based upon a tie-breaker. Along the way, they racked up victories against the University of Kansas, Texas, Central Florida, Southern Methodist, Binghamton and Kansas State. Junior Kacey Ballard (Green River) and freshman Mary Marcum (Omaha) also had a winning record. The duo collected wins against Kansas, Texas, San Antonio, Dallas, Minnesota and Binghamton.
Freshman debater Bethany Jones (Green River) had a dominating performance at the Dallas tournaments in the junior division. She finished in the final four at the first tournament and was the runner up after losing a close split-decision in the final round at the second tournament. She defeated teams from San Antonio, Kansas State, Louisiana-Lafayette, West Virginia, Kansas City Kansas Community College and Johnson County Community College during her impressive run into the deep elimination rounds.
Freshman Akash Gondalia and sophomore Ben Berry (both of Cheyenne) also were in attendance, contributing victories against West Virginia, Binghamton, Oklahoma University and Wichita State University. Junior Kathleen Bouzis (Omaha) and sophomore Peter Steiner (Fort Collins) rounded out the effort with victories over University of Missouri-Kansas City and West Virginia.
With not even a full week between returning from Dallas or the beginning of classes, UW debaters were off once again to a tournament hosted by the University of California-Berkeley, where two teams had impressive performances. Ballard and Marcum had a break-out tournament with wins over some elite competition, including Harvard University, Gonzaga, Cal State Fullerton and Chico State. The two finished in the elite 8, losing on a split decision to the tournament's runner-up: Texas. Ballard and Marcum were also recognized for their speaking prowess by collecting the 10th and 11th best speaker awards.
Berry and Gondalia also had a strong performance, advancing to the elimination rounds with a winning record. They collected wins against USC (twice), Sacramento State and Chico State. While they advanced to the elimination rounds, they were unfortunately locked into hitting Ballard and Marcum in the bracket, the latter advancing as the higher seed. Fanning and Pauli were also in attendance, narrowly losing their debate to advance to USC.
The month concluded with tournaments in Cheyenne, WY and another series of debates hosted in Kansas City by UMKC. At LCCC in Cheyenne, Gondalia and Ballard teamed up for a weekend of parliamentary debate and were joined by sophomore Gordon Dobbs (Cheyenne) and Zachary Flynn (Cheyenne). Both teams broke even, narrowly missing the elimination rounds. In Kansas city, with over 60 teams in attendance, the tournament was tougher than expected. Bouzis, Steiner, Jones and Marcum all competed and, while neither team had enough wins to advance to the elimination rounds, they did defeat their opposition from Fresno State and the University of Oklahoma.
UW Debate is headed down the homestretch with tournaments in Austin, Ogden, Rock Springs, Oklahoma City and Atlanta. Wish us luck as our national championship tournaments approach.
Champions, Val Browning Round Robin- Weber State University: Bausch/Ballard
Champions, Rupp Debates- Idaho State University: Bausch/Ballard
Champions, USAFA Forensics Classic- US Air Force Academy: Miller/Starkey
Second place (Junior Varsity), Rupp Debates- Idaho State University: McFarland/Bouzis
Second place, Great Salt Lake Invitational- University of Utah: Miller/Starkey
Semifinals, Las Vegas Classic- UNLV: Bausch/Ballard
Semifinals, Golden Gate Invitational- Berkeley: Larmer/McBride
Semifinals, Cardinal Classic I- William Jewell: Etcheverry/Starkey
Semifinals, Northern Arizona University Invitational: Miller/Starkey
Semifinals, National Parliamentary Debate Association Championship: Miller/Starkey
Third place, Val Browning Round Robin- Weber State University: Fanning/Pauli
Quarterfinals, National Junior Division Debate Tournament- JCCC: Fanning/Pauli
Quarterfinals, Rupp Debates- Idaho State University: Fanning/Pauli
Quarterfinals, Cardinal Classic II- William Jewell: Etcheverry/Starkey
Quarterfinals, McMillan Swing I- Washburn University: Larmer/McBride
Quarterfinals, McMillan Swing II- Washburn University: Larmer/McBride
Quarterfinals, Mile High Swing II- Colorado College: Larmer/McBride
Quarterfinals, Mile High Swing II- Colorado College: Miller/Starkey
Quarterfinals, Northern Arizona University Invitational: Larmer/McBride (walk-over)
Thirteenth place, National Parliamentary Tournament of Excellence: Larmer/McBride
Octafinals, Franklin R. Shirley Classic- Wake Forest University: Bausch/Ballard
Octafinals, Jesuit Invitational- Gonzaga University: Bausch/Ballard
Octafinals, National Junior Division Debate Tournament- JCCC: Berry/Bouzis (walk-over)
Octafinals, Golden Gate Invitational- Berkeley: Etcheverry/Starkey
Octafinals, CC Swing I- Colorado College: Larmer/McBride
Octafinals, CC Swing II- Colorado College: Larmer/McBride
Octafinals, McMillan Swing I- Washburn University: Etcheverry/Starkey
Octafinals, McMillan Swing II- Washburn University: Etcheverry/Starkey
Octafinals, Mile High Swing I- Colorado College: Miller/Starkey
Octafinals, Great Salt Lake Invitational- University of Utah: Larmer/McBride
Octafinals, Whitman Classic I- Whitman College: Miller/Starkey
Octafinals, Whitman Classic II- Whitman College: Miller/Starkey
Octafinals, National Parliamentary Debate Association Championship: Larmer/McBride
Eighteenth place, National Parliamentary Tournament of Excellence: Miller/Starkey
Double Octafinals (14th seed), National Debate Tournament: Bausch/Ballard
Double Octafinals, CC Swing I- Colorado College: Etcheverry/Starkey
Double Octafinals, CC Swing II- Colorado College: Etcheverry/Starkey
Double Octafinals, Mile High Swing I- Colorado College: Larmer/McBride
First speaker, Las Vegas Classic- UNLV: Michael Bausch
First speaker, Val Browning Round Robin- Weber State University: Michael Bausch
First speaker, Rupp Debates- Idaho State University: Michael Bausch
Second speaker, Great Salt Lake Invitational- University of Utah: Kathryn Starkey
Second speaker, USAFA Forensics Classic- US Air Force Academy: Kathryn Starkey
Third speaker, Jesuit Invitational- Gonzaga University: Michael Bausch
Fourth speaker, Rupp Debates- Idaho State University: Kacey Ballard
Fourth speaker (Junior Varsity), William DeMougeot Debates- UNT: Ben Berry
Fourth speaker (Junior Varsity), Rupp Debates- Idaho State University: Kathleen Bouzis
Fifth speaker (Junior Varsity), Rupp Debates- Idaho State University: Tiffany Adamski
Fifth speaker, McMillan Swing II- Washburn University: Kathryn Starkey
Fifth speaker, Whitman Classic II- Whitman College: Kathryn Starkey
Seventh speaker, Rupp Debates- Idaho State University: Amy Pauli
Eighth speaker, McMillan Swing II- Washburn University: Jeremiah Etcheverry
Eighth speaker, National Parliamentary Debate Association Championship: Nick Larmer
Ninth speaker, Mile High Swing I- Colorado College: Isaac McBride
Tenth speaker (Junior Varsity), Fear and Loathing in Dallas Debate- UTD: Ben Berry
Twelfth speaker, Mile High Swing I- Colorado College: Nick Larmer
Twelfth speaker, Northern Arizona University Invitational: Kathryn Starkey
Twelfth speaker, Great Salt Lake Invitational- University of Utah: Nick Larmer
Fourteenth speaker, McMillan Swing I- Washburn University: Kathryn Starkey
Fourteenth speaker, Whitman Classic I- Whitman College: Kathryn Starkey
Fifteenth speaker, National Junior Division Debate Tournament- JCCC: Amy Pauli
Fifteenth speaker, Mile High Swing II- Colorado College: Nick Larmer
Fifteenth speaker, Great Salt Lake Invitational- University of Utah: Isaac McBride
Fifteenth speaker, National Parliamentary Tournament of Excellence: Kathryn Starkey
Seventeenth speaker, McMillan Swing II- Washburn University: Nick Larmer
Seventeenth speaker, Northern Arizona University Invitational: Isaac McBride
Eighteenth speaker, Franklin R. Shirley Classic- Wake Forest University: Michael Bausch
Nineteenth speaker, CC Swing II- Colorado College, Nick Larmer
Nineteenth speaker, McMillan Swing I- Washburn University: Isaac McBride
Twentieth speaker, Golden Gate Invitational- Berkeley: Nick Larmer
Twentieth speaker, McMillan Swing I- Washburn University: Nick Larmer
Twentieth speaker, McMillan Swing II- Washburn University: Isaac McBride
Twentieth speaker, Northern Arizona University Invitational: Nick Larmer
