There’s No Debating Success

The George R. Brown Forensics Society placed first in overall sweepstakes at the University of St. Thomas Forensics Tournament held in Houston in late September. The Rice team, composed mainly of new students, dominated the debate divisions at the tournament.

In parliamentary debate, Rice advanced six of eight teams to the quarter-finals bracket, won all of its quarter-final rounds, and eliminated all other schools from the tournament. This resulted in an unbreakable, six-way tie for first place among the Rice teams, which consisted of Robert Crider and Nathan Smith, Danielle Mathieu-Reeves and Sheena Barbour, Greg Miller and Justin Simard, Ben Norris and Malcolm McCollum, Elise Sumnicht and James Sullivan, and Jennifer Thai and Harry Long.

The top six places in parliamentary debate speaker all went to Rice speakers. They were, from first to sixth place: Ben Norris, James Sullivan, Elise Sumnicht, Sheena Barbour, Malcolm McCollum, and Harry Long. Greg Miller won first in Lincoln-Douglas debate, Morgan Gossom took fourth place in program oral interpretation, and Ben Norris and Ben Smiley placed fifth and sixth places, respectively, in extemporaneous speaking. Norris also finished first in impromptu speaking and fourth in after-dinner speaking, and he walked away as top debater/speaker, followed by Greg Miller in second place and Justin Simard in third.

Rice was number one in the overall sweepstakes and the debate sweepstakes and third in the speech sweepstakes.