KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The UMKC Debate team of juniors Andrew Allsup and Juan Garcia received a second-round bid to compete in the National Debate Tournament in late March at the University of Texas at Dallas. At the National Debate Tournament, UMKC will compete against teams from schools, such as Harvard, Dartmouth, Northwestern and the University of California, Berkeley.
The second-round qualifying process recognizes teams that have had success throughout the season, but that did not qualify through the district tournament process. Allsup, a Dean’s Scholarship recipient, and Garcia finished with a 4-4 record at the National Debate Tournament District 3 Qualifying Tournament Feb. 25-28.
“The last time UMKC qualified for the National Debate Tournament was in 2007, when the Kangaroos lost in the final round and took second place,” said Matt Vega, director of UMKC Debate. “This year, the Roos are looking to get some big wins and make it back to the elimination rounds.”
In mid-February, Allsup and Garcia won the varsity division of the Kansas State University Debate Tournament. They compiled a 5-2 preliminary round record with wins against Wichita State University, Missouri State University and the University of Texas at San Antonio. The two debaters were the fourth seed into the elimination rounds, when they beat teams from Missouri State University and the University of Texas at San Antonio en route to the final round. In the final round, they defeated a team from the University of Kansas.
At the K-State tournament, UMKC debaters also brought home three of the top ten speaker awards. Allsup received the sixth overall speaker award and Garcia received the seventh overall speaker award. Junior Alex Bonnet received the second overall speaker award.
The University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC), one of four University of Missouri campuses, is a public university serving more than 15,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students. UMKC engages with the community and economy based on a four-part mission: life and health sciences; visual and performing arts; urban issues and education; and a vibrant learning and campus life experience. For more information about UMKC, visit www.umkc.edu. You can also find us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and watch us on YouTube.