EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State University student debaters Steve Donald and Aaron Monick can add another notch to their belt: a second- place finish in the Cross Examination Debate Association's National Championship Tournament which they earned in final competitions Monday, March 20.
The national championships, held in Overland Park, Kan., started Friday and Saturday with a field of 220 two-person teams from all over the United States. Through a series of single-elimination debates the field was narrowed to 64, then to a "Sweet Sixteen," eight, the "Final Four," and then the championship round.
The University of West Georgia won the tournament in a five to four decision by the judges. The topic was whether the U.S. should end economic sanctions toward one of several specified "rogue nations."
Donald and Monick won 13 of 14 debates between preliminary and elimination rounds.
MSU, the top seed among the field of 64 teams, entered four two-person teams in the national championship. All four teams had winning records in their eight preliminary debates and qualified to enter the single elimination competition on Sunday and Monday as part of the 64-team group. Three of the MSU teams reached the "Sweet Sixteen."
Donald is a junior philosophy major from Tulsa, Okla., and Monick is a senior James Madison College student from Iowa City, Iowa.
Other team members include Matt Blair and Calum Matheson of East Lansing; Austin Carson and Geoff Lundeen of Grand Rapids; Anjali Vats of Bloomfield Hills; and Alison Woidan of Caro.
"This was an outstanding performance by our top team and an outstanding performance by the other members of the team," said Jim Roper, professor of philosophy and head coach of the MSU debate team. "All our teams showed both breadth and depth in our debates, both in the contest and throughout the year. MSU had both the No. 1 and No. 3 seeds in the tournament."
Blair, Carson, Vats and Woidan all reached the "Sweet Sixteen" before being eliminated. MSU's fourth team of Matheson and Lundeen, both freshmen, were eliminated earlier in the competition.
Since 1994, the MSU Debate Team has won two national championships, finished second in the nation four times and third once, when they reached the final four of the national tournament last year.
The MSU debate coaches include Will Repko, Jason Trice and Jason Russell, all of East Lansing, and John Sullivan of Rochester.
"Coaching is extremely important in debate because each team needs to be coached before each round," said Roper. "Will Repko, who organized the coaching, deserves a great deal of credit."</