Debate team takes ninth place

Tuesday, March 23, 2010 - 12:42 AM

The UNR debate team unexpectedly lost to Whitman College in the octofinal round of the National Parliamentary Debate Association’s Championship Tournament Monday, earning a ninth-place finish. Texas Tech University won overall.

Nevada, having won both the NPDA Championship and the National Parliamentary Tournament of Excellence in 2009, entered the tournament with high hopes and was disappointed by the 3-2 decision against them.

“A lot of the audience members, and even the (Whitman College) team, said that we out-debated them in a couple areas,” said coach Phil Sharp. “But we just couldn’t get those three judges.”

UNR took home higher honors in the individual speaking category. Junior Max Alderman won second place nationally, and senior Matthew Hogan won fourth.

“I’m extremely excited about the individual speaking award, and so happy for the team,” said Alderman.

Sharp was proud of his team’s results and said he couldn’t have asked them to perform better.

“Their attitude, their maturity are very impressive,” he said of the team, which helped Pepperdine University team prepare its arguments after being knocked out of the tournament. “They’re very humble.”

About 300 teams competed in the tournament held at Texas Tech University, which asked teams to debate topics from health care to government funding of religious institutions. It was kicked off March 19 by the annual “U.S. vs. Irish Debate” held in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. Hogan was one of three students chosen nationally to represent the United States.

The U.S.-Irish debate is decided by a crowd vote, not judges, and the Irish have traditionally dominated. Though they won again Friday, Hogan said the U.S. made progress compared to previous years.

“It went incredibly well,” Hogan said. “It was closer than it ever has been before.”

The team is worn out after the tournament — according to Sharp, their “brains have turned to mush” — but will have to prepare for the NPTE tournament, scheduled for March 27 to 29. The tournament features the top-64 ranked pairs in the nation, and UNR students Alderman and Hogan as well as Elia Pirtle and Travis Salley will compete.

“We have a lot of work to do,” Alderman said.

Skyler Dillon can be reached at sdillon@nevadasagebrush.com.