MSU DEBATERS CONCLUDE STRONG SEMESTER

12/10/2002

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State University debate team recently returned from the final tournament of the fall semester, where they advanced two teams to the "sweet 16" and took home two top 10 speaker awards.

The Wake Forest Tournament in Winston-Salem, N.C., was the largest tournament of the semester with more than 300 individual debaters from dozens of colleges and universities in attendance. Going into the elimination rounds, MSU had two debate teams with 7-1 records vying for top honors.

Dave Strauss, an international relations junior from East Lansing, and Greta Stahl, a history and international relations junior from Shelby Township, earned the third overall seed and advanced into the octofinals, also known as the "sweet 16," before being defeated. Stahl also received the sixth place individual speaker award. She has received a speaker award in the top 10 at every tournament she has attended this semester.

Calum Matheson, a social relations senior from East Lansing, and Joe Siegmann, an international relations and political economy senior from East Lansing, were the fifth overall seed entering the elimination rounds. They also advanced to the octofinal round before being defeated.

Matheson had previously won the top speaker award at four straight competitions he participated in this year. His remarkable streak came to a close as he was chosen as the third place speaker at this tournament.

"Although Calum's perfect streak was broken, the individual recognition that Calum has received this semester is truly amazing," said Michael Eber, the interim director of debate. "The fact that an unbroken streak of top speaker awards was even a possibility two months into the season really speaks to how talented and impressive of a debater Calum is."

MSU had two other debate teams with 5-3 records but fell short of advancing into the elimination rounds.

One of those teams included Margaret Ryan, international relations and political theory and constitutional democracy sophomore from East Grand Rapids, and Casey Harrigan, a James Madison College freshman from Holland.

"At a tournament as large as Wake Forest, to have a 5-3 record and 'miss elims on points' is still a solid accomplishment, especially for a freshman-sophomore team such as Maggie and Casey," Eber said.

The other team that narrowly missed the elimination rounds was Elizabeth Deluca, a James Madison College freshman from Gaylord, and Nathan Gibson, a political science freshman from Sterling Heights. However, based on their strong performance, they qualified for an elimination bracket comprised of the best all-freshman teams at the tournament. In this "frosh breakout" opportunity, MSU advanced to the semifinals and finished in third place.

"Overall the MSU debate team had another strong semester given the impressive performances of multiple Spartan teams," Eber said. "MSU clearly stands out as one of the very best intercollegiate debate teams in the country."

The team is focusing on the spring semester, which begins in late December. The debate squad will start the new season traveling to two tournaments in California and will conclude with an opportunity to win either of two national championship tournaments.