Freshmen debaters prepare to talk their way to the top

A group full of youthful vigor and energy, the University's speech and debate team has gotten off to a running start this year. The team pulled in two fifth-place finishes at major East Coast tournaments at George Mason and West Chester universities this fall. And several members have already qualified for a national tournament this spring, team secretary and Wharton junior Jason Auerbach said. But it's not their performance that the team is touting -- it's their freshman class. "They are a strong group with a lot of potential," Auerbach said of the class, members of which are competing in separate novice events until they are ready to compete at the varsity level. "The freshmen this year are phenomenal," added College sophomore David Ecker, the team's vice president, adding that the group did extensive recruiting to build a strong core of younger members. The accolades flow in both directions. "[The upperclassmen are] why the freshmen have been successful," team member Todd Wise said. "The students encourage the students. That's what's so appealing about the team." Wise, a College freshman, added that the freshmen have a "certain amount of vigor, a will to win." "We want to compete with the proverbial big boys," he said. At the GMU tournament October 5, Engineering freshman Ginny Donovan took first place in impromptu speaking at the novice level, with Engineering freshman Jay Haverty placing second and Wise third. During the event, participants have seven minutes to think about and respond to a famous quotation provided by a moderator. And varsity team member Benjamin Shoval, a Wharton sophomore, was a semi-finalist in the varsity impromptu category. "The whole team did a great job," said Auerbach, who placed fifth in extemporaneous speaking and fourth in the "After Dinner Speaking" event. "[But] the most important part was that all our novices went. We're building a strong core of freshmen and sophomores." The ADS event allows participants to present a 10-minute prepared speech looking at a serious topic in a humorous manner. At the West Chester tournament on October 11 and 12, two varsity members, College junior Josh Ewing and College sophomore Sarah Coelho, qualified for the semifinals in the Lincoln-Douglas debate, a one-on-one public policy argument. The team is now preparing for a tournament at Massachusetts' Suffolk University this weekend. And Halloween weekend, the team will attend what Auerbach said is the biggest event of the semester, the "Mad Hatter Tournament" at Pennsylvania's Bloomsburg University.