Two students from the Michigan State University Debate Team have been selected to represent MSU at the Kentucky Thoroughbred Round Robin – an invitation-only tournament for seven of the top teams in the country.
Joanna Gusis, a Statistics and Political Theory and Constitutional Democracy junior in the Honors College, and Stephen Lewis, a Social Relations and Policy sophomore, were selected based on their success in the 2023-2024 season.
Gusis and Lewis regularly reached the Sweet 16 at major national tournaments last season and both made appearances in the elimination debates at the 2024 National Debate Tournament. 
“Being invited is a huge honor for the team and speaks to how talented Joanna and Stephen are,” said Will Repko, the MSU Debate Team Head Coach. “These are students who are being recognized as some of the best in the country out of hundreds of students competing.”
This is MSU Debate’s first invitation to the Kentucky Thoroughbred Round Robin since 2015 when they won the tournament.
The exclusive tournament is hosted by the University of Kentucky in Lexington starting September 25, 2024.
MSU will be joined at the round robin by teams from Dartmouth College, the University of Michigan, Harvard University, Emory University, the University of Kansas, and California State University, Long Beach.
“A round robin is unique because we know exactly who we’ll be debating well in advance. That gives us the opportunity to plan for specific contingencies and practice for different situations,” explains Repko.
While Gusis and Lewis are the students who will be representing MSU, the entire team and coaching staff will help research and prepare arguments for them to compete.
“There will only be two MSU debaters in the tournament, but the invitation is a reflection of the hard work of the whole team,” said Kevin McCaffrey, MSU Debate Assistant Coach.
The MSU Debate team is part of the Honors College.