Mock Trial tied for 7th at first round of nationals
(The Beacon)
By Hannah Gray, News Editor -- gray12@up.edu
Over the weekend, the Mock Trial team tied for 7th place at the Opening Round Championship Series.
This is the highest the Mock Trial team has placed in 20 years.
"The University of Portland, after this year, became a powerhouse," Mock Trial President and Team A Captain Kathya Acuña said. "I'm extremely happy I dedicated my whole senior year to making this program the best - this is the best year mock trial has ever had."
Twenty-four teams from around the U.S. competed in Memphis, Tenn., including UP's Team A, which has 10 students. Only the top six teams continued on to the final round of nationals.
UP tied with the Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas and the University of Washington in Seattle, Wash.
Each team competed in four rounds. UP tied with the University of Washington in the last round.
"(For the last round) we completely changed our strategy - we embraced the 'go big or go home,'" Acuña said. "And we completely surprised them."
The Mock Trial team, in order to give itself a competitive edge against the University of Washington team, prepared a witness last minute, which ultimately changed everything else, such as the opening and closing statements.
"It was amazing that we pulled it off because we were running on three hours of sleep or less, and we were trying a new theory we hadn't considered before because it was a little risky," Acuña said. "Whether we won or not, that was the best round we could have had."
Junior Charity Taylor, who will be the Mock Trial president next year, is happy with the performance of the team, especially in the last round.
"I'm really proud of our ability to adapt and to thrive under stress and to come out successfully," Taylor said. "We keep getting progressively better, and I'm really excited for next year."
