The Forensics Team at Florida State University started 2019 continuing the success they had during the 2018 Fall semester.

This past weekend, the team attended and won two tournaments hosted by Southeastern University. The first tournament was in the British Parliamentary style. Mai Rubin and Josh Schulster competed as a team, and Kaitlyn Applegate and Grace Findley on a second team. The pairs debated well during the four preliminary debates, and Mai and Josh advanced to the final round. There, FSU was awarded first place over teams from the University of Miami, Lynn University, and Southeastern University. Mai also earned the award for 3rd place overall speaker.

The second tournament of the weekend was in the National Parliamentary Debate Association format. Kaitlyn and Grace went 3-1 in prelims, and Mai and Josh were 4-0. Mai and Josh advanced to elimination rounds as the top seed and won both rounds, defeating Lynn University in finals.

During the 2018 Fall semester, the Forensics Team competed at the Capital City Classic tournament hosted at Tallahassee Community College. Both the debate and individual events teams competed. Eleven schools attended this event: Rollins College, Valdosta State University, Central Florida, University of Florida, College of Central Florida, Polk State College, University of West Florida, Florida State University, Florida State College – Jacksonville, Northwest Florida State College, and Tallahassee Community College.

FSU’s team was represented by Mai and Josh. The team went undefeated in the preliminary debates, earning them the top seed in elimination rounds. They then went on to earn a 1st place finish, winning unanimous 3-0 decisions in both semi-finals and finals. In addition to winning the tournament and not dropping a single ballot, the students also won awards for top speaker. Josh was second speaker of the tournament and Mai won top speaker honors.

The individual events team also earned numerous awards. FSU had two students advance to finals in After Dinner Speaking, Sahara Lyon and Brendan Gerdts. Brendan finished in 4th place and Sahara took 1st. Additionally, Kaylie Williams won 1st place in Communication Analysis. In extemporaneous speaking, Brendan Gerdts and Nick Trodd advanced to the final round. Nick won 4th and Brendan Gerdts took 2nd. Brendan and Sahara were also finalists in Impromptu Speaking; Sahara finished in 2nd place and Brendan won 1st. FSU also had two students make the finals in Dramatic Interpretation, Gaby Paez and Kaylie Williams; Gaby finished in 2nd place and Kaylie in 1st. Finally, Nick Trodd won first place in Persuasive Speaking.

I.E. at Crimson Classic, Alabama University

5^th Place – Team Sweepstakes

6^th Place – After Dinner Speaking – Sahara Lyon

6^th Place – Communication Analysis – Kaylie Williams

5^th Place – Impromptu Speaking – Sahara Lyon

I.E. at Alabama Alumni Invitational, Alabama University

7^th Place – Team Sweepstakes

6^th Place – Communication Analysis – Kaylie Williams

2^nd Place – Persuasion – Nick Trodd

I.E. at Marks Tournament at University of West Florida State University

3^rd Place Team Sweepstakes

1^st Place – After Dinner Speaking – Gaby Paez

6^th Place – After Dinner Speaking – Brendan Gerdts

1^st Place – Communication Analysis – Kaylie Williams

5^th Place – Dramatic Interpretation – Gaby Paez

1^st Place – Extemporaneous Speaking – Nick Trodd

2^nd Place – Extemporaneous Speaking – Brendan Gerdts

3^rd Place – Impromptu Speaking – Brendan Gerdts

3^rd Place – Persuasion – Nick Trodd

3^rd Place – Prose – Gaby Paez

I.E. at the Star Invitational – Florida State College-Jacksonville

Here are the Results:

Team Sweepstakes – Florida State University finished 2nd

After Dinner Speaking – Gaby Paez 3rd and Sahara Lyon 5th.

Communication Analysis – Nick Trodd 2nd and Kaylie Williams 3rd

Dramatic Interpretation – Gaby Paez 2nd

Extemporaneous Speaking – Nick Trodd 1st and Brendan Gerdts 5th

Impromptu Speaking – Brendan Gerdts 1st, Sahara Lyon 2nd, Nick Trodd 5th

Persuasive Speaking – Kaylie Williams 1st, Nick Trodd 3rd

Prose Interpretation – Gaby Paez 5th and Kaylie Williams 6th

Debate – Valdosta State University

5^th Place finish – Josh Schulster/Mai Rubin

5^th Speaker – Josh Schulster

Debate – Samford University

5^th place Finish – Stephen Scoppa/Mai Rubin