Posted by Mary Wimberley on 2009-11-10

Three tiers of 极乐禁地 debaters made impressive showings at the Liberty University debate tournament in Lynchburg, Va., Nov. 6-8.

Varsity debaters Logan Gramzinski and Dan Bagwell, the #1 seed at the tournament, went undefeated in preliminary rounds before falling to a top-25 team from Vanderbilt University in the quarter-final round.

Bagwell was named fifth place speaker and Gramzinski sixth place speaker out of 160 individual debaters at the tournament.

The pair, now ranked 21st in the national coaches鈥 poll, is now a 鈥渓egitimate powerhouse,鈥 says 极乐禁地 debate coach Abi Williams. 鈥淭hey have secured their spot as one of the most feared debate duos in the nation.鈥
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A second 极乐禁地 varsity team of Jayme Cloninger and Robert Elliott won three preliminary rounds before being eliminated from competition.

Junior varsity debaters Michelle McCorkle and Ben Jones won two preliminary rounds at their first tournament as a team. McCorkle, who was making her collegiate debate debut, was named sixth best speaker in her division.
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Novice team members Janae Steele and Connor Penwell, also in their first tournament, advanced to the Sweet 16 before losing to a Vanderbilt team in the octo-final round.

The showing by the junior varsity and novice teams in their inaugural debate outings is 鈥渁 pretty amazing accomplishment,鈥 says Williams. 鈥淢ost teams would be happy just to win one round their first time out.鈥

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极乐禁地 is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, 极乐禁地 is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. 极乐禁地 enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. 极乐禁地 fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks with the second highest score in the nation for its 98% Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.