News
4/3/2007 UMKC Wins Second at Nationals
UMKC Debate Finishes Strong at the National Debate Tournament!
The UMKC team of Malcolm Gordon and Amy Foster finished as the runner-up at the National Debate Tournament in Dallas over the weekend.
The National Debate Tournament (NDT) hosts the 78 best debate teams in the US. Schools that attend include academic powerhouses like Harvard, Dartmouth, Emory, Bard, Cal-Berkeley, Northwestern, Georgetown, as well as teams from a great deal of other public and private universities. The UMKC team of senior Amy Foster and senior Malcolm Gordon qualified through the First Round At Large process, which is the first time that UMKC Debate has qualified a team through this process. It means that our performance throughout the year qualified us as one of the top 16 teams in the country.
Once at the tournament they competed in 8 preliminary rounds. Malcolm and Amy finished with 7 wins and one loss with wins over Emory (2), Kansas, Wayne State (2), Wake Forest, and Texas. UMKC was the 4th seed into the elimination rounds. This meant that they would receive a bye through the Double Octafinal Round. In the Octafinals, they defeated California Berkeley on a 7-0 decision. In Quarterfinals, they defeated Northwestern on a 5-0 decision. In semifinals, they defeated Wayne State University on a 4-1 decision. In the Championship round, the amazing run ended with a loss to an Emory team, that Malcolm and Amy had previously beaten at the tournament during the preliminary rounds, on a 4-1 decision.
Malcolm Gordon also received individual honors as the 5th overall speaker at the tournament.
While Malcolm and Amy were ranked 15th going into the tournament, it was still considered a long shot for them to be in the final round. It is hard to explain what an exceptional accomplishment a second place finish at the NDT is. Taking a glance at the National Runner-Up trophy, however, starts to put this into perspective. Beside the names of great debaters from Northwestern, Harvard, Georgetown, Berkeley, Emory, and Dartmouth, the names of two debaters from UMKC will forever be engraved.
3/14/2006 UMKC Wins Novice National Championship
Senior Dean Dennehy won the Novice division of the National Junior Division Debate Tournament at Johnson County Community College this weekend. Dean debated with a debater from Missouri State, and they beat a team from Kansas State in the final round. Also, Dean received the award for 3rd overall speaker at the tournament.
The Novice division includes only people that have no high school or college debate experience. Dean has had a great deal of success during his year of debate at UMKC, and we wish him well after graduation.
The Novice Championship is the culmination of a great year of novice debate at UMKC. UMKC Novices won six tournaments, numerous second, third and fourth place finishes as well as a plethora of speaker awards. UMKC hopes to continue this success into the future and maintain a strong novice squad.
3/10/2006 UMKC Gets Second Team to National Debate Tournament
UMKC Juniors Amy Foster and Gretchen Rix have been awarded an at-large bid to the National Debate Tournament to be held at Northwestern University in March. This will be Amy and Gretchen's second year at the NDT. Last year, they finished with an impressive 4-4 record, and they hope to improve on that success this year. This is the second year in a row that UMKC has qualified two teams to the NDT.
2/28/2006 UMKC Qualifies for the National Debate Tournament
UMKC's Malcolm Gordon and Andy Culp finished second at the National Debate Tournament Qualifying Tournament held this weekend at Kansas City Kansas Community College. UMKC finished tied for the most wins, 7, with a teams from Oklahoma University and Missouri State, but finished second due to overall ballot count. Also, Malcolm won the top overall speaker at the tournament for the 4th time this year.
Teams from Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas competed at the tournament to qualify to the National Debate Tournament to be held in Chicago in March. The NDT limits the number of qualifiers to 78, so the tournament is very exclusive, and shows the dedication and skills of the debaters that qualify. This is the 10th year in a row that UMKC has qualified a team to the National Debate Tournament. Malcolm has competed at the NDT the last two years, and has been in elimination rounds both years. This will be Andy's first NDT.
2/10/2006 Malcolm Gordon wins huge speaker award at Texas
UMKC's Malcolm Gordon won the ninth overall speaker at the University of Texas Austin tournament this last weekend. Malcolm was ranked 9th out of over 300 debaters at the tournament.
1/10/2006 Gordon/Culp win another tournament
The UMKC Team of Malcolm Gordon and Andy Culp finished the two-tournament trip to Texas with one tournament victory and one third place finish. Malcolm and Andy won the first tournament at University of North Texas, beating a team from Kansas University in the finals.
Competing later that week at the University of Texas at Dallas Tournament, Malcolm and Andy were the first seed after prelimination rounds, and won several elimination debates before losing in semi-finals. Malcolm was also the first overall speaker at the UTD Tournament.
12/1/2005 Debate Adds to Winning Ways - Bio of Top Debater Amy Foster Published in E-Roos Publication
Check it out at: http://fusion1.umkc.edu/e-roos/eroos.cfm?NewsID=487
Debate Adds to Winning Ways
Amy Foster, a junior from Wellington, FL, is double majoring in Communication Studies and English. For the second year in a row, Foster won perhaps the most unique “speaker award” in intercollegiate debate -- a velvet painting. The 2005 award is a toreador painting, a nice addition to the velvet Rotweiler she received in 2004 as the top speaker at the same tournament.
Who is this gifted speaker? In Amy Foster's Own Words: I've gotten all As for grades in college except for Shakespeare which I got an A-. Right now I've got 14 hours (8 science, 3 English linguistics, and 3 ancient literature). I'm majoring in English and Communication Studies (emphasis in Interpersonal and Public). My minor in the Classics will be completed this semester. I'm president of the Classics Clubs and for the past three semesters I was secretary.
As for debate ... Debate is the reason I chose to come to UMKC. When I was choosing schools I picked UMKC over the University of Texas at Austin (where only 20 percent of those accepted were allowed to be out of state) because of the opportunities and scholarships awarded to me at UMKC. If I was just looking to go to an Ivy League school, I probably could have. However, I was looking for the whole package, which included the ability to travel with a nationally competitive debate team while still getting an education.
How many people get the experience to enjoy school, travel, and make friends across the U.S.? As much as I love a lot of my classes, I would have to say that debate is more than likely the most educational and exciting activity that a student can take. I think that the recent rise in novice debaters is a great testament to that. When you can convince a bunch of medical and business school people with already full plates to give up days of their lives to go and debate about our foreign policies with China that says something about the power of an activity and the people involved in it.
11/5/2005 UMKC Takes Two Divisions at University of Central Oklahoma
UMKC rounded up first semester with dominating performances in all three divisions including first place and third place in Open, first through third in Novice, and third in Junior Varsity. This outstanding finish should solidify UMKC as one of the top three schools overall in the Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA) points rankings.
Senior Andy Culp and Junior Malcolm Gordon won their second consecutive tournament. Malcolm and Andy only lost one round throughout the entire tournament, and avenged that loss in the final round by defeating the team that they lost to. They also received outstanding individual awards with Malcolm winning the top overall speaker in the tournament and Andy receiving tenth overall.
Juniors Amy Foster and Gretchen Rix also had an outstanding tournament in Open. They were the 13th and 14th overall speakers, and they made it to semi-finals before losing to the eventual second place team.
In Junior Varsity, the team of freshmen Bridgett Johnson and Joey Harrity had a breakout tournament, making it all the way to the semi-finals before losing to the eventual Junior Varsity division winners. Bridgett received her third straight top 5 speaker award winning 3rd overall speaker in the Junior Division.
The most remarkable story continues to be the outstanding performance of the UMKC Novices. UMKC Novices closed out the final round and one bracket of semi-finals. The team of Sharan Srinivas and Vasudeva Ramaswamy finished in first place without having to debate in a single elimination round. After a bye in the first elimination round, Vasu and Sharan advanced over the UMKC team of Kamisha Gatlin and Dean Dennehy in semi-finals.
UMKC Novices show off their trophies! From Left: Dean Dennehy, Vasudeva Ramaswamy, Sharan Srinivas, Nam Le, and Jheel Mheta.
Freshmen Nam Le and Jheel Mheta - Second Place.Jheel Mheta and Nam Le finished off the division by winning their quarterfinal and semi-final rounds to meet Vasu and Sharan in finals. Jheel and Nam had to do all of the legwork while Vasu and Sharan got all of the glory, but it is all worth it for a group that wins as a squad.
This was Sharan's last tournament. He will be graduating at the end of the semester and returning to his home in India. Sharan and Vasu have competed at three tournaments; they have won two of the tournaments and finished second to another UMKC team at the other tournament, which means that Sharan will finish his debate career without ever losing an elimination round. His positive attitude and incredible success will truly be missed, but the squad wishes him well in his plans for the future.
Vasu and Sharan showing off trophies from the two tournaments that they won - University of Central Oklahoma (top) and Emporia State University (Bottom).There is no rest for the debaters even as the first season winds down. The debaters will spend the rest of the semester gearing up for the tournament-packed second semester. UMKC Debate will be on the road in early January to start the next semester. Even before classes start, the debaters will have already competed at two tournaments in Texas. The workload will not be able to distract the squad or the school from the impressive first semester, one of the most successful in UMKC history.
10/3/2005 UMKC Novices Dominate at Missouri State
James Hoskins and Christopher Stewart finished their first debate tournament undefeated, and lead the way as UMKC swept first through fifth place in the Novice Division at the 2005 Missouri State Virginia Craig Debate Tournament, October 1-3, 2005.
In Junior Varsity, Bridgett Johnson and Adam Sokoloff captured the second place award, losing in the final round to the University of Oklahoma.
“The novices were absolutely dominant,” said Assistant Coach Matt Vega. “After the first four rounds, the five teams had a combined record of 19-1.” Vega gave much of the credit to Bryce Dietrich, the assistant coach who had been working with the students and to all the novice debaters who had put in so much time preparing for the tournament.
The second through fifth place teams in order were Vasudeva Ramaswamy and Sharan Srinivas (5-1); Kamisha Gatlin and Christopher Ray (5-1); Jheel Mehta & Tim Herman (5-1); and Dean Dennehy and Christopher Seedyk (5-1).
Several of the students won individual speaker awards in addition to team awards. Hoskins was top speaker, Sharan was second, Vasudeva was third, Christopher Ray was fourth, Christopher Stewart was fifth, Kamisha Gatlin was sixth and Jheel Mehta was tenth. In Junior Varsity, Adam Sokoloff was the fourth speaker, and Bridgett Johnson was thirteenth."
The tournament was hosted by Missouri State University Campus, and was attended by 15 colleges and universities from Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Iowa.
4/1/2005 UMKC Finishes Strong at NDT
UMKC followed up its strong finish at the CEDA National Tournament with an incredible NDT. The UMKC Team of Malcolm Gordon and Austin Case took a 5-3 record into the double octafinal elimination round against the second-ranked team from Harvard University. Gordon and Case completed the largest upset of the tournament with a 3-2 victory in the round.
The following round, UMKC bowed out to the eventual second place finishing team from University of California at Berkeley. The double octafinal win is a large accomplishment for the team and they hope to build on it in years to come.
UMKC's Amy Foster and Gretchen Rix also had a very strong showing. They finished with a 4-4 record including wins against CEDA Nationals quarterfinalists in round 8. These two sophomores are looking forward to two more strong years at the NDT.
2/28/2005 UMKC Finishes Second at NDT Qualifier
UMKC followed up their 2004 victory at the NDT qualifier with a strong second place finish at the 2005 Qualifier. With 22 teams competing, the UMKC team of Austin Case and Malcolm Gordon finished with 7 wins out of 8 rounds, and were only edged out for the top spot with total ballot count.
This tournament qualifies UMKC to attend the National Debate Tournament at Gonzaga University at the end of March. UMKC hopes to have a strong showing at the NDT to follow up on last year's strong showing.
2/15/2005 UMKC JVers Show up at Heart
UMKC's Junior Varsity team of Bridget Johnson and Adam Sokoloff did much better than just show up at this weekend's Heart of America tournament at Kansas University. With a strong showing in preliminary rounds, Bridget and Adam were the 3rd seed going into elimination rounds. They were able to ride their strong seeding to victories over Kansas City Kansas Community College and Oklahoma University before losing to another Oklahoma team in the finals on a 2-1 decision. This team has been doing better at each tournament that they attend, and they are hoping to have another strong showing at JV Nationals in March.
1/31/2005 UMKC at Augustana
UMKC Debate had another successful weekend at Augustana, IL tournament. The UMKC team of Malcolm Gordon and Austin Case finished in fourth place while the Junior Varsity team of Bridget Johnson and Adam Sokoloff finished in 3rd place.
UMKC also won several speaker awards. Bridget and Adam finished 5th and 4th speakers in Junior Varsity, and Austin Case was the 7th speaker and Malcolm Gordon was the 3rd speaker in the Open division.
1/10/2005 UMKC Dominates in Dallas/Denton
UMKC Debate had another fine showing at the Texas Two-Step Tournaments at University of North Texas and University of Texas at Dallas. The UMKC team of Malcolm Gordon and Austin Case tied for the most preliminary victories at the two tournament, and they finished first at the UNT tournament without losing a single ballot. They also finished 3rd at the UT-Dallas tournament, losing in semi-finals on a 2-1 decision.
The up and coming team of Amy Foster and Gretchen Rix lost in octifinals of the UNT tournament on a 2-1 decision, and then knocked out the top seed at the UT-Dallas tournament in Octifinals before losing on a 2-1 in quarter-finals.
The UT-Dallas tournament was also the first tournament for new squad member Bridget Johnson, who has just arrived. She advanced to quarter-finals of her first college tournament, and we are expecting great things from her in coming years.
11/09/2004 UMKC Debate Finishes 2nd at UCO
UMKC Debate had another strong finish at the University of Central Oklahoma tournament. From a field of nearly 40 teams, the UMKC team of Malcolm Gordon and Austin Case finished second, losing in finals on a 2-1 decision. In the elimination rounds, Gordon and Case beat teams from the University of Kansas, the University of Oklahoma, and the University of Alabama. Malcolm and Austin each received a speaker award as well, with Austin receiving 10th overall speaker and Malcolm the 2nd overall speaker. Amy Foster and Gretchen Rix also had a strong finish, losing to the eventual tournament winners in the Octafinal round on a 2-1 decision. Amy Foster also received 19th speaker, and Mike Thomas received 20th speaker.
10/12/2004 UMKC Debate Featured in University News
Check out the front-page story about the UMKC Debate Team in the UMKC student newspaper, the University News.
10/04/2004 Closes Out Finals and Top Speaker
UMKC had a great weekend of success at the Kansas City Kansas Community College Tournament. UMKC had two teams in open. Sophomore Austin Case and Junior Andy Culp were the top seed out of prelims with a record of 6-0, and Sophomores Amy Foster and Gretchen Rix were the second seed with a record of 5-1. Both teams won their quarterfinal rounds and their semi-final rounds to close out the tournament for UMKC. All four of the debaters finished in the top 10 in speakers at the tournament and Amy Foster finished as the top speaker at the tournament. Coupled with her second overall speaker award at the University of Northern Iowa Tournament, Amy is gearing up to have a fantastic year for UMKC.
9/20/2004 3rd Place Finish and Second Speaker
UMKC started the year with a trip to the University of Northern Iowa Season Opener in Waterloo, Iowa. There were 34 teams in the Open division. UMKC's team of Sophomore Amy Foster and Freshman Dylan Sutton were the fourth seed out of prelims with a 6-2 record, and Amy was awarded the second overall speaker for the tournament. In the elimination rounds, Foster and Sutton beat teams from Wayne State University and Baylor University en route to the Semi-Finals, where they bowed out to the eventual second place team. We hope to hear much more about them as the season progresses.
4/15/2004 UMKC Debate Finishes in Top Ten
The UMKC Debate Team finished ranked in the top 10 of both the National Debate Tournament (NDT) Rankings and the Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA) Rankings. UMKC rode a wave of second semester success to end the year ranked 9th in NDT and 8th in CEDA rankings. UMKC has had several top ten finishes in the last decade including a National Points Championship in 1995. With a young squad, with only one graduating debater, UMKC hopes to continue its success in the 2004-5 season.
4/7/2004 UMKC Finishes Season on the Rise
The UMKC team of Bryce Dietrich and Malcolm Gordon finishes their season in spectacular fashion by advancing to the elimination rounds of the National Debate Tournament this past weekend at Catholic University in Washington, DC. Bryce Dietrich, a senior Political Science major, advanced at the NDT for the first time after qualifying the last two years. Malcolm Gordon, a sophomore, is a first time qualifier. The team lost in the double-octifinals round to the team from Redlands University in California. This culminated a very successful tournament at which UMKC beat a University of Louisville team in preliminary rounds that was in the quarter finals of the tournament.
Bryce and Malcolm have enjoyed a great deal of success throughout the year, and had been climbing throughout second semester. Their successes includes a 3rd place finish at University of North Texas, a second place finish at Wichita State, a second place finish at University of Texas Dallas, and a 1st place finish at the Cornell University Tournament.
3/27/2004 UMKC Advances Two Teams at National Tournament
UMKC advanced two teams at the Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA) National Tournament held at the University of Louisville the previous weekend. The team of Bryce Dietrich and Malcolm Gordon were the 11th seed at the tournament out of nearly 200 teams. Micheal Thomas and Marcus Leach were the 54th seed. The two teams were fated to debate each other in the triple octifinal round, and Micheal and Marcus bowed out to the higher seeded team. Bryce and Malcolm debated and lost to the team from the University of Kentucky in the double octifinals.
UMKC also enjoyed individual success at the CEDA tournament. Bryce Dietrich, a senior, was honored as an Academic All-American. Malcolm Gordon, a sophomore, was honored as an All-American and finished as the 14th best speaker at the National Tournament.
UMKC also had two teams that finished 4-4 at the National tournament. The team of Andy Culp and Gretchen Rix, Sophomore and Freshman, and the team of Amy Foster and Matt Little, both freshman, had impressive tournaments, and just missed advancing to the elimination rounds.
3/27/2004 Inagural Bryan Johnston Debater of the Year Award
Brynn Olsen of Pepperdine University won the inaugural Bryan Johnston Debater of the Year Award at the 2004 Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA) National Tournament. The award is named in honor of the late Bryan Johnston who debated at UMKC from 1992-1996. Bryan was a highly successful debater, winning the CEDA National Tournament with partner David Genco in 1994. Bryan Johnston died of Luekemia in 1996, and the annual Debater of the Year Award was named in his honor in 2004.
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