Strong Start To Novice Season

Woodward's novice debate team is off to a strong start after the first two tournaments of the season.

At the Griffin Bear Classic, twelve new debaters made their debuts with everyone winning at least one debate. As a team, the squad finished with an 11-13 overall record. While no teams finished in the top eight, freshman Pranay Vemulamada earned the sixth individual speaker award.

At the Chattahoochee Cougar Classic, seven new debaters joined five that had competed at Griffin to represent Woodward. Again, all teams won at least one debate with the team racking up a 12-18 overall record. Freshmen Liliana Burgess and Yash Darshane finished the preliminary rounds with a 3-2 record and advanced to the octafinals where they were defeated by Westminster. The duo became the first Woodward novice team to clear to the elimination rounds at a tournament in the 2012-2013 season. Freshmen Shreya Kanukunta and Sarah Lu also posted a 3-2 record at their debut tournament but narrowly missed reaching the elimination rounds.

In total, 19 students have made their debate debuts for Woodward already this season. The next tournament for the novice squad is Johns Creek, October 12-13.