Athens, Ga. – The Georgia Debate Union from the University of Georgia reached the quarterfinals of the National Season Opening Tournament held Sept. 18-21 at Georgia State University in Atlanta.
More than 170 teams from 50 colleges and universities traveled to Atlanta for the meet. The UGA team of senior Brittany Cambre and sophomore Mike Lacy won five of seven preliminary debates defeating teams from Trinity University, the University of Florida, Baylor University and Missouri State University. They defeated second seed Michigan State University in the octafinals to reach the quarterfinals.
The team of senior Karen Harrison and freshman Austin Layton also won five of seven preliminary debates and were the thirtieth seed in the tournament. They reached the elimination rounds of the tournament after defeating teams from Northwestern University, Wake Forest University, the University of Michigan and the University of Kentucky.
Also attending the tournament were Dillon Horne, Jordan Edwards, Meredith McKay, Eric Bogart, Adi Sudarshan, Weilan Zhang, Justin Drew and Blaine Drew.
This was the Georgia Debate Union’s first debate tournament using their sustainable Paperless Debate Initiative. Rather than carrying four to eight 50-pound boxes filled with evidence, each team stored evidence on laptop computers. Students built their speeches, shared evidence and took notes on their laptops.
The UGA team is supported by the Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs.