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W&L Mock Trial Team Advances

Washington and Lee University’s young Mock Trial team finished fourth with a 6-2 record in last weekend’s American Mock Trial Association regional tournament at Chapel Hill, earning a spot in the Opening Round Championship Series in Greenville, S.C., on March 23-25.

The W&L “A” team competed against Campbell University, Patrick Henry College, Vanderbilt University and Furman University during the regional event.

According to Christopher Schneck, a senior from Exton, Pa., and captain of the team, the results were particularly gratifying since the W&L team met rival Furman in the fourth round with the trip to the championship series on the line.

“We split the round with them, which was enough for us to qualify for the opening round of the national championship,” Schneck said. “We’ve had a pretty intense rivalry with Furman for the last several years, and we respect that program a great deal, so this was a gratifying way to advance.”

The W&L “A” team features five first-year students and three upperclassmen.

“We couldn’t have made it this far without the massive contributions of our first-year competitors,” Schneck said. “They have constantly risen to and competed at a level well beyond our expectations.”

Members of the “A” team are first-years Samantha Sisler of Worcester, Pa., Elizabeth Elium of Garrettsville, Ohio, Naphtali Rivkin of Teaneck, N.J., John Houser of Chaptico, Md., and Jackie Yarbro of Suwanee, Ga., along with juniors, Abbie Caudill ’13 and Nate Reisinger ’13, both of Urbana, Ohio, and Schneck.

Two W&L competitors were recognized as witnesses. Christina Lowry, a sophomore from Lexington and a member of the W&L “B” team, earned perfect score of 20.

“Every judge who saw Christina compete thought that she was the best witness in the room,” said Schneck. “This was her second witness award on the season.”

In addition, Houser was recognized with a witness award, which was his first of the season.

Before going to the Chapel Hill regionals, the W&L Mock Trial teams tuned up by competition in the University of Richmond’s Spider Classic Jan. 21-22 where the “A” team finished second with a record of 6-1-1 while the “B” team had a 4-4 record.

Individually, Reisinger won an attorney award while Lowry, Rivkin and Jasmine Jimenez all won witness awards.