UMW First-Year Ainsley Rucker (right) teamed up with U.S. Naval Academy student Matthew Pickard to win the novice championship against George Mason University at the Georgetown Debate Tournament, Jan. 3-5.
The University of Mary Washington Debate Team started off the new year with a bang, winning the novice championship at the first tournament of the semester. Senior John Huebler, and first-year students Amanda Ciocca and Ainsley Rucker returned early from winter break to compete at the Georgetown Debate Tournament, January 3-5. The tournament fielded competitors from across the nation, including Harvard, University of California-Berkeley, and Dartmouth, as well as UMW’s frequent competitors from the region, including George Mason, Georgetown and the U.S. Naval Academy
Ciocca and Huebler competed in varsity, with wins against opponents from Georgetown and New York University. Rucker competed with a partner from another school – Matthew Pickard, from the Naval Academy in a combined junior varsity and novice division. They faced opponents from George Mason, Rochester, and New York University. In the novice final round, they were assigned to negate George Mason’s proposal to cooperate with China on space-based solar power. They defeated George Mason by a 2-1 decision of the judges.
“Ainsley and her colleague from Navy debated very well all weekend in a very tough division that included junior varsity teams. It was great to start the semester off with a strong win. The spring semester tournament schedule is intense and starting off the semester with a tournament win gives our squad momentum,” said Adrienne Brovero, director of debate at UMW.
The team is now gearing up for tournaments at the Naval Academy and Liberty in January, and hosting and competing in the District VII National Debate Tournament Qualifier in February. The team is also preparing to host multiple debates on campus during the semester, which will be open to the public. Information about those events will be available via the team’s social media in later January.
To follow the team, follow @UMWDebate on Twitter & Instagram, and University of Mary Washington Debate on Facebook.