ckueffne – Tulane Debate

Tulane Wins Second Straight Tournament at San Jacinto

ckueffne Tournament Results October 26, 2017October 26, 2017

The Tulane University Debate Team won its second tournament in as many tries this year, with first-year debaters Ren Allen and Jeremy Evans prevailing in varsity in their first NPDA competitions ever. The duo both missed the earlier Morehouse College tournament but made up for lost time by winning the Bayou City Swing Tournament at San Jacinto College in Houston.

Allen and Evans broke to varsity quarterfinals alongside teammates Claire Kueffner and Madison Sullivan. Both teams won their quarterfinals, setting up a match between the two in semifinals. As the higher seed, Allen and Evans advanced to finals without a round. After some administrative confusion, the final round against UT-Austin was cancelled and Tulane was declared co-champions.

Here are the full results for Tulane at the tournament:
Ren Allen & Jeremy Evans – Co-Champions
Claire Kueffner & Madison Sullivan – Semifinalists
Ren Allen – 2nd Speaker

Four Tulane teams in total competed at the Bayou City Swing. The team will next travel to Carson-Newman University in Jefferson City, Tennessee in the effort to win their third straight NPDA (National Parliamentary Debate Association) tournament. Two years ago, Tulane placed two teams in semifinals at this competition.

If you would like to sign up for the tournament, the deadline to register is November 1st. If you would like to join the Debate Team, come to one of our three weekly practices or contact us!

Weber & Hoffler Edge Kueffner & Sullivan to Win In-House Tournament

ckueffne Debates at Tulane, Tournament Results October 2, 2017

The Tulane University Debate Team held its first In-House Tournament of the season, pitting teammates against each other for a full day of debate competition on campus. Seven teams competed for four preliminary rounds with a break to finals.

The final round featured the team’s two varsity teams, Claire Kueffner & Madison Sullivan against Matthew Weber & Christopher Hoffler, a re-match of a close third round carried by the former team. Kueffner & Sullivan were Government, defending the motion “This house believes that Tulane should eliminate its football program” against Weber & Hoffler’s Opposition. After a contentious round including an ambitious counter-plan from Opp, they carried a narrow 2-1 decision.

Here are the top performers from Saturday’s contest:
Teams
1. Matthew Weber & Christopher Hoffler (3-1, winning finals on a 2-1 decision)
2. Claire Kueffner & Madison Sullivan (4-0)
3. Claire Wynne & Cassidy Moon (2-2)
4. Ren Allen & Matthew Klinck (2-2)

Speakers
1. Claire Kueffner
2. Matthew Weber
3. Ren Allen
4. Claire Wynne
5. Madison Sullivan

Tulane Debate holds at least one In-House tournament each semester to sharpen their skills and give debaters an extra opportunity to compete without traveling. The team will next be in action in late October with a visit to San Jacinto in Houston on the 20th and 21st. Several important Tuesday, Wednesday, and Sunday practices are ahead to prepare for the competition and help develop all team members as public speakers and debaters. New members are always welcome!

Competitors and judges in the first Tulane Debate in-house tournament of 2017-18 line up on the iconic University sign in front of Gibson Hall, where the tournament was held. Left to right: Stephen Cortese, John Glover, Ren Allen, Matthew Klinck, Jasmine Davidson, Matthew Weber, Christopher Hoffler, Quinn Burke, Cassidy Moon, Claire Kueffner, Storey Clayton, Charlie Mendoza, Claire Wynne, Madison Sullivan, and Eric Strain. (not pictured: Lexi Frame)

Tulane Wins Morehouse to Open Season

ckueffne Tournament Results September 28, 2017September 28, 2017

The Tulane University Debate Team opened the 2017-18 season with a win at Morehouse College’s annual King Classic, the largest National Parliamentary Debate Association (NPDA) tournament yet hosted at Morehouse. Boasting 38 teams from 10 schools in two divisions (open and novice), the tournament’s competition was spirited and intense. After five preliminary rounds, one Tulane team “broke” to quarterfinals in the open division, while another one and a half teams broke in novice.

Uma Kumar-Montei and her partner from Morehouse, Jordan Davis, won their novice quarterfinal, while Claire Kueffner and Madison Sullivan prevailed in their open quarter. Kueffner and Sullivan went on to win the semifinal and carry a narrow 3-2 victory in the final round against Arkansas State.

Here are the full results for Tulane at the tournament:
Claire Kueffner & Madison Sullivan – Tournament Champions
Claire Kueffner – 2nd Speaker
Madison Sullivan – 7th Speaker*
Uma Kumar-Montei & Jordan Davis [Morehouse] – 4th Novice Team
Quinn Burke & Austin Yde – 8th Novice Team
Uma Kumar-Montei – 3rd Novice Speaker
Charlie Mendoza – 8th Novice Speaker
Claire Wynne – 10th Novice Speaker
Tulane University – 2nd Sweepstakes

*Sullivan, a novice, competed in the open division, and was not awarded a novice speaker award since she was in the top ten in open.

The win for Kueffner, a senior, was her second tournament victory at Morehouse, having won in 2015 with Tim DeCotis. Her partner this year, Sullivan, was competing in her first parliamentary debate tournament ever.

Tulane will look to build on this success at NPDA tournaments across the south in the coming months as the team continues to train one of the largest and most promising novice classes in the team’s history. TU will host its first in-house tournament of the year on Saturday, September 30th. If you’re interested in joining the team, please contact President Claire Kueffner at ckueffne@tulane.edu!

Tulane reached last year’s NPDA National Quarterfinals and also competes occasionally on the American Parliamentary Debate Association (APDA) circuit. Tulane finished last year ranked 47th overall in NPDA and 26th in APDA. Tulane finished 26th in the NPDA rankings in 2015-16, when they also broke to outrounds at NPDA Nationals.