Semifinalists at Pine Crest

Woodward traveled to Florida over MLK Weekend to compete at the Crestian Classic, a regional invitational hosted by Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale. A new addition to the team's travel schedule, the trip marked Woodward's first visit to the Sunshine State since 2006. Nasir Nanjee '12 and Karthik Srinivasan '13 represented the War Eagles admirably, reaching the semifinals and falling one ballot short of earning their first qualifying bid to the Tournament of Champions.In the preliminary rounds, Woodward racked up four wins (over Gulliver Prep, Cypress Bay, Berkeley Prep, and Taravella) while suffering two losses (to Gulliver Prep and Carrollton Sacred Heart).Advancing to the quarterfinals as the fourth seed, Nasir and Karthik defeated the fifth seed from Carrollton on a 3-0 decision to advance to their first "bid round". In a rematch against the top team from Carrollton, Woodward lost a close 2-1 decision to bow out in the semifinals. In addition to reaching the semifinals, both debaters earned individual speaker awards: Nasir 6th and Karthik 7th. The Crestian was the best showing of the season for Nasir and Karthik and an outstanding way to begin their second semester.