Furman Advances to Championship Finals in Mock Trial March Madness
March 28, 2012
GREENVILLE, S.C.—Furman University earned its 16th consecutive trip to the American Mock Trial Association’s championshipfinals with a strong performance in the Ney National Tournament held oncampus March 23-25.
Furman qualified one of its two entries in the Ney tournament, whichgot off to an impressive start when former U.S. Supreme Court JusticeSandra Day O’Connor addressed the tournament participants prior to thestart of the competition.
The national tournament will be held in Minneapolis, Minn., in April.
Furman’s advancing team earned a bid with a record of 5-2-1, winningover Eastern Kentucky University, winning and losing to Florida State,winning and tying Elon, and winning and losing to South Carolina. Twoteams from Harvard and one team from Duke, Eastern Kentucky andPrinceton also moved on to the finals.
The road to the national championship began in February with 655teams competing in one of 24 regional tournaments. About 30 percent ofthose advanced to the opening rounds of the national championship, whichwere hosted at eight sites, one of those being the Ney National atFurman. Each of those eight sites advances six teams to the final.
Furman’s team is led by Alyssa Richardson ‘12 (Columbia), and MorganBridgman ‘12 (Atlanta) who was named an outstanding attorney. Other teammembers are Ricky Davis ’14 (Kennesaw, Ga.), Maddison Hall ’14 (FortMill), Nicholas Lau ’15 (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), Dustin Magaziner ’15(Cherry Hill, N.J.), Katherine Martin ’14 (Snellville, Ga.), AndrewMueller ’14 (Tinley Park, Ill.), and Kathleen Wade ’12 (Tallahassee,Fla.).
Furman’s second team finished with a 4-4 record and was led by AnnaMcDanal ’12 (Hatechubee, Ala.) who was also named an outstandingattorney. This team also won the Spirit of AMTA Award, given to the teamthat best displays the ideals of the association – civility,professionalism, and the pursuit of justice. Voted on by the students,this marks the first time Furman has received this award at anAMTA-sanctioned tournament.
Coaches for Furman Mock Trial include D. Brad Rustin ’03, StevenBuckingham ’03, Lindsay Builder ’07, Mark Fessler ’05, MitchellGoldsmith ’06, university legal advisor Angie Littlejohn, Brent Tuckerand Thomas Azar. Also integral to Furman’s success is adjunct coach andpresident Rod Smolla who worked with the team ahead of the tournamentand was instrumental in bringing Sandra Day O’Connor to be part of theNey National’s opening ceremony.
For more information about Furman Mock Trial, contact programdirector Glen Halva-Neubauer in the department of political science at864-294-3608, or [email protected].
Pictured: Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor addressed the mock trial participants prior to the competition.
