Furman Mock Trial

The Furman mock trial team opened the 2008-2009 season at the Carolina Classic, hosted by Elon University, Elon, NC, this past weekend. The 24-team tournament attracted a particularly strong field for an early season invitational, including the 2006 and 2007 National Champions from the University of Virginia, the defending national championship runners-up from George Washington, and the University of Texas, a perennial powerhouse.

Furman's squad is divided into four teams, and we sent one team to Elon. The team finished with a record of 3-4-1, which was a great start for the program. The students won and lost against North Carolina "B", tied and lost to Richmond A, won and lost to Virginia A, and won and lost to South Carolina. Of our three losses, one was by a point, another was by two points, and another was by three points. One of their wins was by 13 points and another was by 32 points. Sometimes it's easy to forget that this is a highly subjective exercise and that two judges can see very different things in the same performance, but that's one of the wonderful lessons of the activity as well--even though it can be frustrating!

This team is led by Will Gyauch '10 from Lexington, SC, and John Woods '11 from Germantown, TN.

Gyauch and Woods are joined by a strong supporting cast, including:

Kathleen Wade, Tallahassee, FL, '12
Alyssa Richardson, Columbia, SC, '12
Robert-Lawton Pratt, Columbia, SC, '12
Sarah Jennings , Littleton, CO, '12
Morgan Bridgman, Tokyo, Japan, '12
Brittany Brattain, Florence, SC, '12
Amanda Powell, Simpsonville, SC, '09

Ms. Powell was awarded an outstanding attorney award, and Mr. Gyauch won an outstanding witness award for his portrayal of Mickey McQuiggan, a death investigator for the State of Midlands.

As you can tell, 2/3rds of this team are first-year students, and only Ms. Wade brought high school experience to the team, so the coaching staff and director, Dr. Glen Halva-Neubauer, are very pleased that they've had such a strong recruiting year. As he begins his 14th season of mock trial, Dr. Halva-Neubauer reports that he is "reminded that it is a blessing to work with such talented young people. Moreover, please let me attest to the fact that this group of students is only smart and hard working, but they are great young people--stellar representatives of the University and its mock trial program."

The success of the team is also a product of the exemplary coaching staff: Shunta Harmon Grant '05, T. Chase Samples '05, J. Buckley Warden '05, Ben Adams '08, D. Brad Rustin '03, Steven Buckingham '03, Ashleigh Ward '03, and Joy Strickler.

Coach Grant, Coach Adams, Coach Warden, and Coach Samples have taken primary responsibility for the team that competed this weekend.

The mock trial season continues this coming weekend at the Sanders Invitational, Lexington, KY. The Paladins will be fielding two teams at the Sanders.