News from campus and beyond

Furman Mock Trial wins bid to National Championship Finals


Last updated March 28, 2014

By Tina Underwood

MockTrial_2014_Kohrt sizedThe Furman University Mock Trial program has won its 18th consecutive bid to the National Championship Finals to be held in April in Orlando, Fla.

Furman earned the bid with a perfect score of 8-0 at the Ney National Mock Trial Tournament held on campus March 21-23. At the tournament, Furman posted a better record than teams from Duke, Harvard and Georgetown among others.

In February, 630 teams nationwide entered regional competitions at 25 sites. The top seven or eight teams from those tournaments advanced to one of eight super-regional contests, one of which was the Furman-hosted Ney National. Of the 24 teams assigned to the Ney National, only six advanced to the championship finals.

Said Furman Political Science Professor Glen Halva-Neubauer, “Being among the top 48 teams in arguably the nation’s largest undergraduate forensic activity puts our students among the top seven percent of all those who started the trek to Orlando in February.”

The victory follows a long string of successes this academic year for Furman Mock Trial.

  • October: Classic City Invitational, Atlanta, First Place
  • November: Great American Mock Trial Invitational, Washington, D.C., Tied for First
  • November: Beach Party Invitational, Newport Beach, Calif., Fourth  Place
  • January: Commodore Classic Invitational, Nashville, First Place
  • January: Ramblin’ Wreck Tournament, Atlanta, Awarded coveted Spirit of AMTA Plaque
  • February: Richmond Regional and Durham Regional, all Furman teams earned bids to post-regional tournaments.

 

The teams are coached by Furman alums D. Brad Rustin (2003), Mark Fessler (2005), Mitchell Goldsmith (2006), Sam Tooker (2006), and Lindsay Builder (2007). Also coaching are Thomas Azar, John Bateman, and Angie Littlejohn, University Legal Advisor.

For more information, contact the Furman University News and Information Office at 864-294-3107.

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