Michigan State University Debate reached the octafinals (round of 16) at a tournament hosted by the University of Texas at Austin last weekend.

At the Texas Open, Piper Meloche, a social relations and policy major in the Honors College, and Tony Miklovis, a James Madison College freshman in the Honors College, won four straight preliminary debates to qualify for elimination debates.

Meloche and Miklovis bested teams from George Mason University, Binghamton University, the University of Wyoming, and a hybrid partnership representing Northeastern University and the University of Pennsylvania in the opening four debates.

“Tony and Piper came out of the gate strong,” said Kevin McCaffrey, MSU Debate assistant coach. “Only a handful of teams were undefeated after the first four debates so we were well-positioned early.”

In elimination debates, Meloche and Miklovis defeated a team from Wake Forest University to reach the octafinals.

To read more, visit debate.msu.edu