Wednesday, Mar 29, 2006
WALLA WALLA, Wash. – What does Whitman College, a tiny academic powerhouse in out-of-the-way eastern Washington, have in common with giants like Northwestern University, Dartmouth College and Michigan State University?
All four schools are celebrating the success of their debate teams at last weekend’s 60th Annual National Debate Tournament (NDT).
A Michigan State duo won the national championship tournament, but Whitman, Dartmouth and Northwestern were the only schools in the country to advance two teams each into the elimination rounds.
Getting underway last Friday on Northwestern’s campus in Evanston, Ill., the NDT featured 78 of the top-ranked debate duos in the country. Both Whitman entries battled through the preliminary rounds and finished in a tie for ninth place as the tournament concluded Monday.
Senior Eric Suni and junior Matt Schissler, who entered the tournament with a No. 13 national ranking, lost a close debate in the second elimination round to a team from Emory University.
Meanwhile, senior Jeff Buntin and junior Ben Meiches dropped a close decision in the same round to a team from Wayne State University. Buntin and Meiches began the tournament with a No. 19 national ranking.
Although both Whitman teams just missed advancing to the final eight, Whitman debate coach Jim Hanson was thrilled with their overall performance. “This was the first time we moved two teams into the NDT elimination rounds,” Hanson said. “It was a great moment for Whitman debate.”
Ryan Burke and Casey Harrigan, a team from Michigan State University, won the national title, beating a duo from Wake Forest University in the finals.
Before falling in the second elimination round, the Suni/Schissler and Buntin/Meiches teams won their first elimination round debates, beating opponents from West Georgia University and the University of Southern California, respectively.
For Suni, Monday’s final results marked the second consecutive year that he finished in a ninth-place tie. He teamed with 2005 graduate Beth Schueler for the same finish at the NDT a year ago. Whitman’s best-ever finish at the NDT came in 2003, when seniors Charles Olney and Thad Blank lost in the semifinals to place third.
Suni also placed 12th in the individual speaker competition at this year’s tournament. During each debate round, individuals receive a certain number of “speaker points” based on the quality of their arguments and presentation during the debate.
The Whitman policy debate program has now qualified at least one team for the NDT in each of the past 10 years. Whitman qualified two teams in seven of those years, including six of the last seven. "No other small liberal arts college in the country has had anywhere near as much success as Whitman has had during that time span," Hanson said.
A third Whitman team, junior Ross Richendrfer and sophomore Andrew Stokes, just missed qualifying for the NDT this year. The Richendrfer/Stokes tandem was one of the top 50 teams in the country, Hanson said, but the NDT invitation format makes it difficult for three teams from the same school to qualify.
Whitman has seven teams entered later this week in the National CEDA Championships, a second national tournament that typically features a field of between 180 and 200 debate duos. The tournament begins Friday and continues through April 4 in Dallas, Texas.
Continuing a long and rich tradition in the rhetorical arts at Whitman, about four dozen students are competing this season in intercollegiate policy debate, parliamentary debate and individual events. Whitman held its first on-campus oratorical contest in 1894 and competed in its first intercollegiate speech and debate contests in 1897 and 1898. The Whitman debate program also sponsors the annual Dovell-Gose Oratory Contest, which began in 1918 and is open to all students, as well as the annual Intramural Debate and Drama Contest.
CONTACT: Dave Holden, Whitman News Service
(509) 527-5902; holden@whitman.edu
