Vanderbilt Undergraduate Mock Trial competed in Memphis, Tennessee, at the Opening Round Championship Series March 20-22, where the A Team achieved a 7-1 record, earning themselves a bid to the American Mock Trial Association’s National Championship Tournament for the first time in 12 years. Junior Jordan Katz also won the title of All-National Attorney. Nationals will be held at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. April 17-19.
In an interview with The Hustler, sophomore and first-year team member Allison Sellers described the weekend at ORCS. Sellers shared that Vanderbilt took only their A Team to the ORCS, though they have both a B Team and a C Team to accommodate student interest in the organization. The A Team faced Southern Methodist University on Friday, where they earned a higher point total from the two judges, winning both ballots. On Saturday, they faced Rhodes, where both teams won a ballot, and later in the day, they went against the University of Tennessee Chattanooga, winning both ballots once again. Finally, on Sunday, they faced Baylor and won both ballots.
“Saturday morning, we went against Rhodes A Team, [and] they are ranked really high. They’re top 10 in the country,” Sellers said. “We were trying to go in with really good vibes. But at the same time, everybody was pretty nervous because we were pretty sure we weren’t going to get any ballots. We ended up splitting, so that means they got one ballot, and we won one ballot, which is crazy for how we thought it was going to go. So, we’re really happy.”…