Two Northwestern Mock Trial teams will compete March 18-20 at the American Mock Trial Association National Tournament, after winning top awards at the regional competition Saturday and Sunday.
All four NU teams, each of which consists of three lawyers and three witnesses, placed in the top 10 spots at the Regional Tournament held at Marquette University in Milwaukee and earned final scores that qualified them for the national tournament in Richmond, Ky. The teams placed 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th.
“I am so proud of the way my team performed this weekend,” said Lindsay Eyler, a Weinberg junior and Mock Trial president. “All of our hard work this year paid off with regional performances exceeding our expectations.”
Although all four teams qualified for nationals, the American Mock Trial Association only allows two teams from each school to attend the tournaments. Two NU teams, identified by numbers 395 and 392, received the highest scores of the groups in Milwaukee regionals and will represent the university at the national tournament.
“We have a really great chance at nationals,” Eyler said. “We definitely provided a good competition against nationally-calibered teams at regionals, and now we’re ready to take on any team in the country.”
Six team members also won individual awards at the tournament. Weinberg senior Brandon Dimond, Weinberg junior Glenn Radecki and Communication sophomore Elliott Dionisio won awards for best attorney performance. Weinberg freshman David Bouchard, Weinberg junior Anastasia Usova, as well as Dionosio, came out on top for best witness performance.
“I was incredibly pleased (with my award) because I feel that I’ve worked hard for my team,” Radecki said. “It was a nice recognition, but it was far more gratifying that my team made it to nationals.”
The regional competition is one of the toughest competitions in the country, team members said. The NU teams competed against other strong contenders, such as the University of Iowa, the 2002 and 2003 national championship winner.
“The (tournament) was very tough — it had some of the best schools in the entire region,” said Weinberg senior Lena Konanova, a team captain.
Because of budget cuts, the Mock Trial teams is trying to raise money through donations from different law firms to pay for their trips to nationals. The team is also petitioning the university for more funds.
“Right now, we’re really feeling the effects (of our budget cuts),” Eyler said. “We’re trying to do some big fund-raising, but ultimately it will come down to whether or not we get money from the university.”
Reach Allan Madrid at [email protected].
