Paladins Continue to Enchant Mock Trial World
Tuesday, 09 February 2010 01:05 | 
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Friends of Paladin Mock Trial:
I returned home early Sunday morning from Chapel Hill, NC with Coaches Mark Fessler and Margaret Oakes and 14 amazing students. The mock trial team had spent Friday and Saturday competing in the Southeast Regional Mock Trial Tournament, hosted by UNC-Chapel Hill. Twenty-four teams competed in the tournament to determine which eight squads would advance to the Southern Opening Round Championship Tournament, which will be held at Furman on March 26-28.
I am delighted to report that the C team finished with a record of 6-2, and the D team finished with a record of 5-3, and both earned bids to the Furman tournament. This was big news in the mock trial community because most observers of our activity did not believe that we had such depth in our program. But our students and coaches made believers out of lots of folks this weekend.
The "C" team lost a key player, senior attorney Alex Meier, to the flu on Thursday at NOON. We were leaving for Chapel Hill at 5 PM that day. Attempts to find a replacement failed, so the team was reduced to the bare minimum of six students, which meant that every student had a role to play on both sides of the case and two of the witnesses had to double as timekeepers! It also meant that students had to learn new roles, and Coach Fessler also decided that we would employ a new defense theory of the case! Considering that Coach Fessler had one senior on his squad, Dwayne Barrs, and three newbies, two of whom are first-year students, we clearly had challenges that were placed in front of us. But Fessler also knew that resilience and tenacity were hallmarks of his team. The team also had t he strong support of Page Bridges '08, whose sister, Emily, is one of the team's captains. Page is a 2nd year medical student at UNC, and she frequently follows the team when we are in North Carolina.
In the first round, Furman faced Wake Forest B, and it won both ballots; in the second round, the Paladins fought tooth and nail against Duke's mighty "A" team (one of the presumptive favorites to take the Regional title), but we lost. Coach Fessler commented that his team could not have given a better performance, and he was proud of them. But he inspired his charges to realize that we could still take home a prize if we executed our plan on Saturday, and we did exactly that, taking both ballots against Wake Forest A and then following with a victory over North Carolina C.
Few teams in our storied history have faced greater odds, but Coach Fessler and his crew didn't get the memo that they were suppose to lose.
Led by Emily Bridges '12, Greenville, SC, and Dwayne Barrs '10, Lawrenceville, GA, the other members of Team Iron are:
Alyssa Richardson '12, Columbia, SC
Ekow Bartels-Kodwo '13, Accra, Ghana
Anna McDanal '12, Hatchecubee, AL
Tom Lewis '13, Dallas, TX
Mr. Lewis won an outstanding witness award for his portrayal of Sidney Michaels, the personal assistant to Jacob Bennett, the person who was murdered in this year's case. Tom plays Michaels with an English accent, and frequently throws in references to the fact that he's a frustrated Shakesperean actor. Perhaps Coach Fessler's Furman English degree is wearing off on young Mr. Lewis.
The "D" team also is a profile in courage. It, too, faced numerous personnel changes, though not ones that occurred at the 11th hour. This all-female team, coached this weekend by Dr. Margaret Oakes of Furman's English Department, also had just two experienced members on the squad. No one gave the Furman women any chance at success, and after drawing Washington and Lee's "A" team (the most seasoned team in the entire regional field) in the first round, things looked rather bleak for Coach Oakes and her women. But Team Estrogen regrouped and faced the byebuster team (a team composed of extra participants to which all schools contribute) in the second round. They defeated that team handily, and went on to defeat the South Caroilna B team in the third round. Then . . . the decisiv e 4th round--another Blue Devil-Paladin match-off, this time, however, it was the Duke B team (also expected to push out of the regional). But the Paladin women brought their game faces to the round; they were not going to succumb to mighty Duke. The team split ballots with Duke, and it cleared the way for Furman D to advance, while leaving Duke's B team to wait to see if it might get an open bid to the Greenville National.
I knew that these women were tough--I traveled with them to Murfreesboro, TN, in November, and watched them rework their case into the wee hours of the morning only to suffer a heartbreaking loss against UNC-Chapel Hill. But the lessons learned in November came back to pay great rewards in February at the far more important tournament of the season. Peaking in February is exactly what the coaching staff would have wanted for this team.
Furman D is led by Catie Donnelly '13, Charleston, SC, and Lindsey Roberts '13, Ashland, OH. Donnelly and Roberts (like Captain Bridges) are both products of our summer scholars program.
Catie and Lindsey are joined by:
Amanda Michalski '13, Kingsport, TN
Sara Morano '13, New Caanan, CT
Chade Franklin '11, Milledgeville, GA
Christina Antalis '10, Dalton, GA
Shanada Adams '13, Rock Hill, SC
Kristen Watts '13, Greer, SC
Ms. Michalski was awarded an outstanding attorney award on the defense side of the case; she, too, is a product of our summer scholars program.
Because these teams performed in such an outstanding fashion, it makes the path to the Greenville tournament far easier for our A and B teams who will be competing in the Orlando regional tournament in two weeks. In short, the unheralded, newbie Paladins went to Chapel Hill and got the job done. Our program has been so successful for so long, that I think folks are lulled into the notion that we always win or that winning is easy. Every year, mock trial teams around the country get better and better and the formula for successfully arguing one's case becomes more widely disseminated. In short, winning is far from automatic. Our kids work very hard as do their coaches, and their victories are a testament to their dedication to this activity.
I am exceptionally, exceptiionally proud of these young people--they are the future of our program in many intances or they represent students who are using their leadership skills to assist younger students to learn the ropes.
Let me give a final tip of the hat to our entire coaching staff: D. Brad Rustin '03, Steven Buckingham '03, Ashleigh Ward '03, Mark Fessler '05, Dawn Williams '05, Libby Weith '06, Dr. Margaret Oakes, Jessica Rustin, and Titus Nichols.
We are blessed to have such strong supporters. This weekend, Mason Freeman '08 and Jonathan Carter '03 (both 2L students at UNC-Chapel Hill) judged at the tournament, helping the tournament organizers immeasurably. Mason and Jonathan are former mockers, and they are giving back to this activity like so many other former mockers.
I appreciate their assistance, and I thank you all for your support.
Ciao,
Glen
I returned home early Sunday morning from Chapel Hill, NC with Coaches Mark Fessler and Margaret Oakes and 14 amazing students. The mock trial team had spent Friday and Saturday competing in the Southeast Regional Mock Trial Tournament, hosted by UNC-Chapel Hill. Twenty-four teams competed in the tournament to determine which eight squads would advance to the Southern Opening Round Championship Tournament, which will be held at Furman on March 26-28.
I am delighted to report that the C team finished with a record of 6-2, and the D team finished with a record of 5-3, and both earned bids to the Furman tournament. This was big news in the mock trial community because most observers of our activity did not believe that we had such depth in our program. But our students and coaches made believers out of lots of folks this weekend.
The "C" team lost a key player, senior attorney Alex Meier, to the flu on Thursday at NOON. We were leaving for Chapel Hill at 5 PM that day. Attempts to find a replacement failed, so the team was reduced to the bare minimum of six students, which meant that every student had a role to play on both sides of the case and two of the witnesses had to double as timekeepers! It also meant that students had to learn new roles, and Coach Fessler also decided that we would employ a new defense theory of the case! Considering that Coach Fessler had one senior on his squad, Dwayne Barrs, and three newbies, two of whom are first-year students, we clearly had challenges that were placed in front of us. But Fessler also knew that resilience and tenacity were hallmarks of his team. The team also had t he strong support of Page Bridges '08, whose sister, Emily, is one of the team's captains. Page is a 2nd year medical student at UNC, and she frequently follows the team when we are in North Carolina.
In the first round, Furman faced Wake Forest B, and it won both ballots; in the second round, the Paladins fought tooth and nail against Duke's mighty "A" team (one of the presumptive favorites to take the Regional title), but we lost. Coach Fessler commented that his team could not have given a better performance, and he was proud of them. But he inspired his charges to realize that we could still take home a prize if we executed our plan on Saturday, and we did exactly that, taking both ballots against Wake Forest A and then following with a victory over North Carolina C.
Few teams in our storied history have faced greater odds, but Coach Fessler and his crew didn't get the memo that they were suppose to lose.
Led by Emily Bridges '12, Greenville, SC, and Dwayne Barrs '10, Lawrenceville, GA, the other members of Team Iron are:
Alyssa Richardson '12, Columbia, SC
Ekow Bartels-Kodwo '13, Accra, Ghana
Anna McDanal '12, Hatchecubee, AL
Tom Lewis '13, Dallas, TX
Mr. Lewis won an outstanding witness award for his portrayal of Sidney Michaels, the personal assistant to Jacob Bennett, the person who was murdered in this year's case. Tom plays Michaels with an English accent, and frequently throws in references to the fact that he's a frustrated Shakesperean actor. Perhaps Coach Fessler's Furman English degree is wearing off on young Mr. Lewis.
The "D" team also is a profile in courage. It, too, faced numerous personnel changes, though not ones that occurred at the 11th hour. This all-female team, coached this weekend by Dr. Margaret Oakes of Furman's English Department, also had just two experienced members on the squad. No one gave the Furman women any chance at success, and after drawing Washington and Lee's "A" team (the most seasoned team in the entire regional field) in the first round, things looked rather bleak for Coach Oakes and her women. But Team Estrogen regrouped and faced the byebuster team (a team composed of extra participants to which all schools contribute) in the second round. They defeated that team handily, and went on to defeat the South Caroilna B team in the third round. Then . . . the decisiv e 4th round--another Blue Devil-Paladin match-off, this time, however, it was the Duke B team (also expected to push out of the regional). But the Paladin women brought their game faces to the round; they were not going to succumb to mighty Duke. The team split ballots with Duke, and it cleared the way for Furman D to advance, while leaving Duke's B team to wait to see if it might get an open bid to the Greenville National.
I knew that these women were tough--I traveled with them to Murfreesboro, TN, in November, and watched them rework their case into the wee hours of the morning only to suffer a heartbreaking loss against UNC-Chapel Hill. But the lessons learned in November came back to pay great rewards in February at the far more important tournament of the season. Peaking in February is exactly what the coaching staff would have wanted for this team.
Furman D is led by Catie Donnelly '13, Charleston, SC, and Lindsey Roberts '13, Ashland, OH. Donnelly and Roberts (like Captain Bridges) are both products of our summer scholars program.
Catie and Lindsey are joined by:
Amanda Michalski '13, Kingsport, TN
Sara Morano '13, New Caanan, CT
Chade Franklin '11, Milledgeville, GA
Christina Antalis '10, Dalton, GA
Shanada Adams '13, Rock Hill, SC
Kristen Watts '13, Greer, SC
Ms. Michalski was awarded an outstanding attorney award on the defense side of the case; she, too, is a product of our summer scholars program.
Because these teams performed in such an outstanding fashion, it makes the path to the Greenville tournament far easier for our A and B teams who will be competing in the Orlando regional tournament in two weeks. In short, the unheralded, newbie Paladins went to Chapel Hill and got the job done. Our program has been so successful for so long, that I think folks are lulled into the notion that we always win or that winning is easy. Every year, mock trial teams around the country get better and better and the formula for successfully arguing one's case becomes more widely disseminated. In short, winning is far from automatic. Our kids work very hard as do their coaches, and their victories are a testament to their dedication to this activity.
I am exceptionally, exceptiionally proud of these young people--they are the future of our program in many intances or they represent students who are using their leadership skills to assist younger students to learn the ropes.
Let me give a final tip of the hat to our entire coaching staff: D. Brad Rustin '03, Steven Buckingham '03, Ashleigh Ward '03, Mark Fessler '05, Dawn Williams '05, Libby Weith '06, Dr. Margaret Oakes, Jessica Rustin, and Titus Nichols.
We are blessed to have such strong supporters. This weekend, Mason Freeman '08 and Jonathan Carter '03 (both 2L students at UNC-Chapel Hill) judged at the tournament, helping the tournament organizers immeasurably. Mason and Jonathan are former mockers, and they are giving back to this activity like so many other former mockers.
I appreciate their assistance, and I thank you all for your support.
Ciao,
Glen