A University of Memphis team that has nothing to do with a ball and hoop recently received a bid to a national competition.
While many around campus are torn over The U of M basketball team not receiving an NCAA tournament bid, the University of Memphis Mock Trial Team has advanced to the American Mock Trial Association National Tournament.
The team, in its third year of existence, was one of only two squads to get a bid in the 22-team regional tournament held at Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law in February.
The team leaves today en route to St. Paul, Minn., where the competition will be held March 17-20.
Team member and freshman journalism major Margaret Thomas said the win at Samford was a surprise to her and the team.
“We were all ecstatic when we won,” Thomas said. “I felt weird when we won. I actually thought we had placed lower.”
Now that her team has made it to the final stage, Thomas said she and her teammates are ready to go into action.
“I think the judges will like our tactics,” Thomas said. “We all know our parts and we’re all competitive.”
Though the team may be pumped, only one team member, senior Jeremy Reece, returned from last year’s team.
Reece, who was named All-Region Witness along with senior Michael Osburn, offered as much assistance as possible, according to Thomas, although thinking of the teams they will have to face translates into anxiety for Thomas.
“He [Reece] helped us out by telling us how things would be set up,” Thomas said. “I hope we do well, but schools like Harvard, Georgetown and Boston College will be there. That makes me nervous.”
Brandon McCleod was named All-Region Attorney.
Thomas’ sister Teresa, a sophomore political science major, is also part of the team. She said she believes the team will fare well at the nationals.
“We all work well together and we’re really good friends, even though we’re different ages,” she said.
In the team’s first year, they competed nationally. Last year, they didn’t advance past regionals.
Robert Armour, adjunct professor of political science and the team’s faculty adviser, said he also likes the team’s chances.
“They’ve been working on this since September and all through the fall,” Armour said. “None of us know exactly what to expect, but I think we’ll be competitive.”
