Garrett Abelkop is 20 years old and a junior studying
International Relations in MSU's James Madison College. He is from
Alpharetta, Georgia where he attended Chattahoochee High School. He
debated for Chattahoochee for four years and his debate career there
culiminated in reaching the final round of the Tournament of Champions
his senior year. This is his third year debating for Michigan State.
So far at MSU, he has reached the elimination rounds of the NDT, CEDA
nationals, and most major national tournaments.

Nathan Bashaw is a freshman majoring in Political Theory and Constitutional Democracy and minoring in Philosophy. He is18 years old, and from Little Rock, Arkansas where he went to the historic Little Rock Central High School and debated for 3 years, helping to lead the team to emerge on the national circuit. He finished 2nd place at the state tournament his junior year. This semester, he was a quarterfinalist at the John Carroll tournament.

Gus Eyzaguirre is a sophmore majoring in International Relations at
James Madison College. Born in Seattle, Gus moved to Salt Lake City,
Utah at age 13. He debated for 4 years at Rowland-Hall St. Marks High
School, winning numerous local tournaments his junior and senior
years. Last year, Gus qualified for elimination rounds at CEDA Nationals. Gus and his partner Eric have qualified for elimination rounds at
nearly all national tournaments this season.

Katie Gjerpen is 19 years old and a sophomore in MSU's James Madison College, double majoring in International Relations and Comparative Cultures and Politics, with a specialization in Political Economy. She is from South Lyon, Michigan and graduated summa cum laude from South Lyon High School. She debated for four years for South Lyon, where she finished as a semi-finalist at the Michigan Varsity State Tournament. This is her second semester debating for Michigan State, and her accomplishments include being a quarter-finalist and the 5th speaker at the Wayne State Tournament.

Tom Gliniecki is 18 years old and a freshman in James Madison College, planning to study International Relations. He lives in his hometown of Dimondale, MI and commutes to class. He graduated last year from Okemos High School, where he debated for four years, receiving a qualifier for the Tournament of Champions and either winning or reaching the final round of several tournaments in Michigan his senior year, including MIFA Varsity States. He recently qualified for elimination debates at the John Carroll tournament.

Jeremy Hammond is an International Relations Senior at James
Madison College. He is 21 years old and attended Cadillac High School in Cadillac Michigan. This is his eighth year being involved in debate and his fourth year on the MSU debate team. His major accomplishments include being named Outstanding Varsity Debater at Cadillac High School in 2003 and 2004 and being the co-champion of the Wayne State Motor City Classic in 2007.

Katie Klante is 19 years old and from Brookfield,WI. She debated for 3 years at Brookfield Central High School. Katie is a freshman studying International Relations and Economics and works as a Professorial Assistant at James Madison College. She advanced to quarterfinals of the Wayne State tournament.

Patrick Klida is 19 years old and a sophomore majoring in Comparative
Cultures and Politics at James Madison College. He is from Shelby Township, Michigan, and attended Eisenhower High School where he debated for three years. This is currently his second year of collegiate debate.

Debbie Lai is a currently a senior majoring in International
Relations with an Asian policy specialization (James Madison College)
and Chinese (College of Arts and Letters). Her debate career began her
sophomore year at Troy High School in Troy, Michigan where she debated
for three years with some regional achievements. After attending the SDI
for two years in a row, she decided to come to MSU to join the debate
team. Here, she has had much success, including qualifying for the NDT,
clearing at major tournaments, and being the co-champion and top speaker
at the 2007Wayne State tournament.

Eric Lanning is an 18 year old freshman at Michigan State where he studies International relations. Eric is originally from The Woodlands, Texas and attended The Woodlands High School. Eric debated for four years in high school and throughout his career received numerous speaker awards and frequently reached the late elimination rounds. This successful career concluded with a 3rd Place finish at the 2007 Tournament of Champions where Eric was also the 2nd speaker. Since joining the Michigan State squad Eric and debate partner Gus have consistently reached the elimination rounds at national tournaments, placing in the quarters at Georgia State and the octos at both Kentucky and Wake Forest.

Ben Mehling is currently a freshman in the James Madison College. He debated for four years at Chattahoochee High School in Alpharetta, Georgia. His achievements there include twice qualifying for the Tournament of Champions, winning the 06/07 state championship and being named top speaker there. His achievements thus far this year include making the elimination rounds of the Georgia State and Wayne State tournaments.

Athena Murray is 22 years old and a senior at MSU.  Her major is philosophy with a specialization in women's studies.  She is from Dorr, Michigan and went to Wayland High School in Wayland, Michigan.  She debated for all four years in high school, and this is her fourth year of debate at MSU. Her accomplishments include qualifying for elimination rounds at the 2007 CEDA Nationals tournament, reaching elimination debates at several major tournaments this season, and winning the Wayne State tournament.

Abby Schirmer is 22 years old and a senior, International Relations and African Development major in James Madison College at Michigan State University. She is originally from Fairview Heights Illinois, a town in southern Illinois near St. Louis, MO.  She debated for four years in high school at Belleville East High School, including attending Michigan State University's Debate Camp, the Spartan Debate Institute. She began at MSU in 2004 and has debated here for 4 years.  She has had much success on the debate team including breaking to the elimination rounds of many regional tournaments, being co-champs of the Wayne State Motor City Classic, and being second place speaker at the John Carrol Tournament in 2007.

Sam Shore is a twenty year old sophomore majoring in International Relations at James Madison College. James Madison College has named him as one of two Dixie Platt fellows in his class. He has debated for both of his years at MSU as well as having four years of high school experience at the Greenhill School in Dallas, TX. He has cleared at major and regional tournaments while in college in addition to clearing at many nationally competitive tournaments while in high school.

Carly Wunderlich is a 19 year old sophmore majoring in Chemistry. She debated all four years in high school at Brookfield Central High School in Wisconsin. This is her second year debating here at MSU. She reached elimination rounds of CEDA nationals in spring 2007, and has qualified for elimination rounds at several national tournaments this season. As a member of MSU's Honors College, she is employed as a research assistant in the Chemistry department.