The Northwestern Debate Society rose above a field of 80 teams to win the 57th annual National Debate Tournament at Emory University in Atlanta last week.

In a unanimous decision, five debate judges gave Weinberg senior Geoff Garen and Weinberg sophomore Tristan Morales the win over a team from Dartmouth College. The two teams debated a proposal to have the United States ratify international laws prohibiting the death penalty.

“It capped off a year of hard work,” Morales said. “It was definitely an exhilarating feeling. Before the last debate we were pretty confident, but the Dartmouth team was great.”

This year’s win is just another accomplishment for communication studies Prof. Scott Deatherage who has coached the team for 17 years.

“We’re ecstatic,” Deatherage said in a press release. “Far more often than not, the top seeded team loses the tournament.”

The students praised Deatherage for his role in preparing the team for the tournament.

“He’s a great leader for the team,” Morales said of Deatherage. “He provides a lot of the work that gets us in the position to compete nationally.”

The victory gave NU back-to-back championships — a feat achieved only five times in the tournament’s history — and the team’s 12th national debate title, the most of any school in the nation. Dartmouth and Harvard University are tied for second place with six titles each.