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Debate Team Opens Season With Large Tournament on Home Turf

Debate

The two-man debate team of sophomore Jacob Loehr and junior Anthony Ogbuli defeated three teams ranked in the top 25 nationally at the recent Texas Two-Step tournament.

To open the 2014 season, the debate team co-hosted the Texas Two-Step tournament, which brought hundreds of competitors to the campuses of UT Dallas and the University of North Texas (UNT).

Since its inception in 1996, the UT Dallas debate team has created a name for itself as a competitive national program with elimination round appearances at major tournaments. In college debate, two teams, each composed of two students, face off on a general topic — one taking the affirmative position, the other the negative side. There are 14 students in the 2013-14 debate program.

At the first portion of the tournament, a team made up of UT Dallas sophomore Jacob Loehr and junior Anthony Ogbuli finished with a 4-3 record in the tournament. The team eventually lost to the University of Wyoming in the elimination rounds, tying for 17th place overall.

At the UNT portion of the tournament, the same team finished with a 5-2 record, placing them 11th overall going into the elimination rounds. The team was knocked out by Trinity University in the quarterfinals after defeating Wichita State University and the University of Kansas.

“Anthony and Jacob defeated three teams ranked in the top 25 nationally on the way to their final result,” said debate program director Scott Herndon. “We’re starting to turn the corner and seeing better results. The team is coming together and some of the youth on the team are stepping up and showing what they can do when faced with top quality competition.”

The UT Dallas tournament welcomed over 200 competitors representing more than 20 universities, including the University of Oklahoma, Indiana University, Washington University in St. Louis and Baylor University. The UT Dallas Texas Two-Step tournament is one of the largest college debate competitions in the nation.

The team will compete next at Wichita State University. For more information about the debate team, visit utdallas.edu/debate.

Media Contact: The Office of Media Relations, UT Dallas, (972) 883-2155, [email protected].

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