If you are interested in joining the Forensics Society please come to our first meeting!
Date: Thursday, September 2nd
Time: 4:15pm and 6:30pm
Place: Kirby Hall of Civil Rights Basement Lounge 004
Category: Uncategorized (Page 11 of 13)
The Lafayette Forensics Society would like to welcome the Class of 2014!!!
We are always looking for new talent to join our team! We travel several times a semester to competitive speech and debate tournaments all over the country. Please look for us at the Activities Fair on Wednesday and join us at our first meeting on Thursday in the basement of the Kirby Hall of Civil Rights at 4:15 pm and 6:30 pm.
We are looking forward to another exciting year and we hope you will join us!
Lafayette finished one of its most successful seasons ever on a high note at the national tournament. 11 students travelled with the coaching staff to Athens, Ohio for the National Forensics Association’s annual national tournament. The tournament is only open to students who qualify over the course of the season. This year, Lafayette qualified a team record 10 debaters to the tournament.
At the tournament, both the debate and speech teams compete in separate divisions. This year, both teams finished in 2nd place! For the debaters, this was the best Lafayette has ever done at Nationals. In 2004, behind the performances of Erik Heins and Jen Rusak, the team finished in 3rd. Last year, the team finished in 5th place. Behind the strong performances of James Hilbert, Sam Derrick and Ryan Benjamin, the debate team was only bested by the reigning 7-time national champions, Western Kentucky University.
James Hilbert finished in 2nd place at the national tournament! James debated in the final round of the tournament after 82 other debaters had been eliminated. He debated against Kaleb Jessee from Western Kentucky University and lost on a 3-2 decision in the final round. It was one of the closest and most competitive final rounds in recent memory. James is the first Lafayette debater to make it to the final round of nationals and it is a VERY impressive feat. James is a junior and will be returning in the fall as one of the favorites to win the national championship.
Sam Derrick finished tied for 3rd place after losing in semifinals to the eventual champion, Kaleb Jessee. It was a very close 2-1 decision in the semi-finals. Had Sam Derrick won, Lafayette would have placed TWO debaters in the final round. It would have been the first time in NFA-LD Debate history that a single team had both of the final round participants. Sam became only the second Lafayette debater to advance to the final four (semifinals) and first since 2004 when then-senior Erik Heins accomplished the feat. Sam is part of an impressive group of seniors and will leave Lafayette as perhaps the most successful debater that Lafayette has ever had.
Ryan Benjamin is the last of the Lafayette debaters to place in the individual competition. He finished tied for 9th place. Ryan had the unlucky fate of being paired against his teammate, James Hilbert, in the round of 16. As is convention, debaters from the same school do not compete against each other, and the coaching staff is asked to advance one of the two debaters. James advanced on the virtue of being a higher seed in the tournament. In the round of 32, Ryan had pulled off a massive upset. He was the 31st seed and was paired against the 2nd seed. Ryan defeated the 2nd seed on a 2-1 decision to advance to the round of 16 and will be one of his signature wins in a great career.
As the returning Division III national champions in speech, our team was barely unable to defend the title, losing to Truman State University. It was very close and we are very proud with second place, defeating 44 other schools.
Senior, Kyle deCant placed in a tie for 13th place in Extemporaneous Speaking. Kyle deCant continued a strong Lafayette tradition in Extemporaneous Speaking. Lafayette has placed a student in 13th or better in each of the last 7 years. This was the second time that Kyle advanced to the elimination rounds at the national tournament. This past weekend, Kyle also represented the state of Pennsylvania at the Interstate Oratorical Association’s annual tournament. The tournament is the longest running speech contest in the world and only two students from each state are selected. Lafayette has had a representative at the tournament for each of the last 7 years. Kyle’s selection is a high honor and a strong finish to his forensics career.
Freshman, Angela Wnek capped off a great year for Lafayette Forensics by finishing in a tie for 13th in Dramatic Interpretation. She is the first top 24 competitor that Lafayette has ever had in any Interpretation event. There are 4 interp events which are more like acting and are performance based; prose, poetry, drama, and duo. Angela’s DI is entitled “Vivien Leigh: The Last Press Conference” and is a play about her acting career that began with her playing Scarlet O’Hara in Gone With the Wind.
The coaching staff is very proud of the team and would like to thank everyone for their support over the years. Our performance is merely a culmination of over a decade of hard work and dedication by former coaches, former students and alumni.
Samantha Sangenito (2012) was recently featured in a You Tube video produced by Lafayette College for its video feed. In the video, Samantha is ‘spreading’, a technique deployed occasionally in debate.
The video mentions Samantha’s state championship in Informative Speaking, but fails to mention her National Championship in NFA-LD debate at the 2010 Pi Kappa Delta National Tournament!
The Lafayette debate team traveled to Minneapolis, MN this weekend for the Pi Kappa Delta National Conference Tournament. 4 students attended the tournament for members of Pi Kappa Delta. Lafayette became the Pennsylvania Phi chapter of Pi Kappa Delta on August 25, 2003. 57 member schools from across the nation attended this year’s championships.
In Lincoln-Douglas debate, two Lafayette students advanced to the quarterfinal round. After finishing 6-0 and 5-1 respectively, Samantha Sangenito and James Hilbert were seeded first and second. In the quarterfinal round, James Hilbert lost to Central Michigan’s Bryn Walters on a 2-1 decision. In the same round, Sangenito advanced on a 3-o decision over Kansas Wesleyan’s Justin Morse. In semifinals, Sangenito defeated Missouri Southern’s Valerie Melton on a 2-1 decision. In the final round, Sangenito was on the affirmative debating the resolution, “should the United States Federal Government substantially reform domestic transportation infrastructure.” Her argument was that the Federal Government should require road construction projects to use an asphalt rubber mix in pavements. Sangenito argued that asphalt rubber would significantly improve road safety. Samantha Sangenito defeated Missouri Southern’s Rayce Lashley on a 3-2 decision to be named Pi Kappa Delta national champion in Lincoln-Douglas debate!
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals |
| (1) Lafayette – Samantha Sangenito | ||
| (8) Kansas Wesleyan – Justin Morse | ||
| (1) LAF – Sangenito | ||
| (4) MOS – Melton | ||
| (4) Missouri Southern – Valerie Melton | ||
| (5) Missouri Southern – Michael Johnson | ||
| (1) LAF – Sangenito | ||
| (6) MOS – Lashley | ||
| (3) Central Michigan – Tiffany Dykstra | ||
| (6) Missouri Southern – Rayce Lashley | ||
| (6) MOS – Lashley | ||
| (7) CMU – Walters | ||
| (2) Lafayette – James Hilbert | ||
| (7) Central Michigan – Bryn Walters |
In addition to winning debate, Samantha Sangenito was also a semifinalist in Informative Speaking, placing 7th out of almost 90 competitors. Freshman, Mohan Ru, also attended and was 3-3 in debate and was awarded an excellent in Impromptu Speaking, by placing in the top 20% of all competitors in that event. Freshman, Joshua Geesey, also attended the tournament.
The team travels to Otterbein College next weekend for one last tournament before the National Forensics Association’s National Tournament at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.
On March 13th, seven schools came to Lafayette for one of the last warm-ups before nationals. Lafayette was joined by the Ohio State University, Otterbein College, Ithaca College, Plymouth State University, the University of Pennsylvania and the national champions, Western Kentucky University for a six round NFA-LD tournament held in Pardee Hall.
After the preliminary rounds, the tournament seeded 8 debaters into the single-elimination quarterfinal round. Of those eight, FOUR were Lafayette debaters. Since it is NCAA tournament season, I’ll run down the bracket for you:
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals |
| (1) Western Kentucky – Frank Murdock | ||
| (8) Ohio State – Deion Hawkins | ||
| (1) WKU – Murdock | ||
| (4) LAF – Garg | ||
| (4) Lafayette – Teevrat Garg | ||
| (5) Lafayette – Sam Derrick | ||
| (4) LAF – Garg | ||
| (7) OTT – Hansen | ||
| (3) Lafayette – Mohan Ru | ||
| (6) Lafayette – Ryan Benjamin | ||
| (3) LAF – Ru | ||
| (7) OTT – Hansen | ||
| (2) Ohio State – Alex Liber | ||
| (7) Otterbein – Jes Hansen | ||
In the final round, Teevrat Garg (senior) defeated Otterbein’s Jes Hansen on a 3-0 decision. Teevrat affirmed the topic “the United States Federal Government should substantially reform domestic transportation infrastructure” by arguing that the US should build a “thruport” in Chicago to better facilitate the intermodal transfer of truck and rail shipments. His argument hinges on the economic and safety ramifications included in improving the efficiency of freight transportation in the United States.
Lafayette has two more tune ups before travelling to Athens, Ohio for nationals at Ohio University.
On the weekend of February 20th and 21st the Forensics Society traveled to the Pennsylvania State Tournament at the California University of Pennsylvania and Northeast Regionals at St. Anselm College in Manchester, NH. Both groups returned with championships!
Four students traveled to the State Tournament with Director of Forensics Scott Placke and competed in both individual events and debate. Senior, Kyle deCant finished in second place at the tournament as an individual. He was named state champion in Extemporaneous Speaking! He also finished second in Persuasive Speaking, second in Lincoln-Douglas Debate, third in Impromptu Speaking, and fifth in Dramatic Interpretation. Kyle’s second place in Persuasion was good enough to qualify him to the Interstate Oratorical Association’s National Tournament. Only two students from each state are chosen to compete at IOA, which is the longest running speech competition in the nation. His speech is about the increasing suicide rates in the United States’ military and potential changes to how the military deals with mental health issues.
Senior, Teevrat Garg was named state champion in Impromptu Speaking and LD Debate. He also finished 2nd in Extemporaneous Speaking. Sophomore, Samantha Sangenito claimed Lafayette’s fourth state championship by winning Informative Speaking with her speech about the role of women in the United States military. Sangenito also finished 3rd in Prose Interpretation and 3rd in LD Debate. Senior, Sam Derrick just missed the finals in Impromptu Speaking, finishing 7th. He also finished 4th in LD Debate.
Despite the small group of students attending the State Tournament the team finished in 3rd place, just 2 points behind 2nd place.
While some members were at the State Tournament, three debaters traveled with coach John Boyer to the Northeast Regional tournament in Manchester, NH. Junior, James Hilbert finished with a 3-1 record in the preliminary rounds and was seeded 2nd going into the single-elimination quarterfinals. Freshman, Justin Bortnick also managed a 3-1 record and was seeded 8th in the quarterfinals. In quarterfinals, Bortnick lost to the tournament’s top seed while Hilbert defeated the 7th seeded competitor from Emerson College. Hilbert advanced to semifinals where he again emerged victorious. That set up a final round against Tim Vaughan from St. Anselm College, the tournament’s top seed and the only person to defeat James in the preliminary rounds. In finals, the debate centered around expanding the use of a traffic flow and congestion management tool called roundabouts. Lafayette’s James Hilbert was arguing in favor of their expanded use, while his opponent from St. Anselm was forced to argue against roundabouts. After a spirited debate in front of a panel of three judges, Hilbert was named regional champion!
Congratulations are deserved for all of the Lafayette students who captured these prestigious awards!
Seven students traveled with Director of Forensics, Scott Placke and the Debate Coach, John Boyer to Boston this past weekend. Suffolk University was host to the University of Florida/Suffolk University swing tournament, held each year in Boston. 19 schools attended the tournament, including 6-time reigning NFA-LD debate champions, Western Kentucky University.
The first day of the tournament was hosted by the coaches from Suffolk University. There were over 40 students entered in debate. Lafayette was able to place 2 debaters in the quarterfinal round of the tournament. Sophomore, Samantha Sangenito, lost in the quarterfinals. Senior, Sam Derrick advanced all the way to the final round, where he defeated Logan Parke from Western Kentucky University to be name tournament champion. In the Junior Varsity division, Joshua Geesey advanced to the final round, where he lost to Krystina Drasher of Ithaca College. Kyle deCant accompanied his debating teammates to the tournament and competed in Individual Events. Kyle finished 2nd in Persuasion and was named tournament champion in Extemporaneous Speaking. The debate team finished first place in Debate Sweepstakes, defeating Western Kentucky University.
The coaches from the University of Florida took over the second day and Lafayette found itself even more successful. In debate, three students advanced to the quarterfinals. Sam and Samantha made return appearances, and Ryan Benjamin (after narrowly missing out on day one) punched his ticket to quarterfinals. Ryan lost in quarterfinals, while Samantha advanced to the semifinals. Sam Derrick again found himself in the final round of the tournament where he was again victorious, this time against Kelcy Hathaway from Western Kentucky University. In JV, Joshua Geesey again lost in the final round, this time to Chris Tinsley from St. Anselm’s College. The debaters weren’t the only ones to improve, Kyle deCant advanced to the finals in all three of his events, claiming 5th in Impromptu Speaking, 3rd in Persuasion and 2nd in Extemp. The debaters again finished 1st in the team competition, while the team as a whole claimed 2nd place in the overall team competition for the weekend.
The tournament wins were Sam Derrick’s third and fourth tournament wins of the year and has been in finals 6 times this year. He has also won 3 out of the last 4 he has entered. Joshua Geesey’s performance in JV was enough to earn him an invitation to the national tournament in April. Joshua is the 10th debater to secure an invitation, which represents the most that Lafayette has ever qualified to the national tournament.
Eight students traveled to St. Louis, MO for the Webster University Gorlok Invitational this past weekend. 38 schools attended the tournament from all over the country. Creighton University, Purdue University, Rice University, Truman State University, University of Nebraska, University of the Pacific, and Western Kentucky University.
In individual events, Samantha Sangenito advanced to the final round in Informative Speaking. In the final round, Samantha finished in 1st place!
In debate, there were 78 debaters in the open division. This was the largest open division ever in a regular season tournament. Only nationals has ever been larger. Lafayette placed three debaters in the top 16 at the tournament. Teevrat Garg (5-1 record), James Hilbert (4-2) and Samantha Sangenito (4-2) all advanced to the octafinal round to place in the top 16. Senior, Teevrat Garg was named 5th speaker at the tournament and Junior, James Hilbert was named 16th speaker at the tournament.
This weekend, Lafayette travels to Boston, MA for the Suffolk University tournament! Wish us luck!
Senior, Kyle deCant and Freshman, Angela Wnek competed in Individual Events at the Ohio University Tournament in Athens, Ohio this past weekend. Both students had a successful tournament.
12 schools from around the country attended the tournament, including Western Kentucky University, Eastern Michigan University, University of Akron, Miami University of Ohio, the Ohio State University and the University of Notre Dame.
Kyle deCant advanced to the final round in Impromptu Speaking. Kyle took 2nd place in the final round!
Angela Wnek advanced to the final round in Dramatic Interpretation and Prose Interpretation. Angela placed 3rd in DI and 5th in Prose!
Those efforts were enough for Lafayette to finish 3rd place in the small-school sweepstakes division.