By: Carly Watson
Michigan State University Debate has qualified three teams to the 80th annual National Debate Tournament (NDT).
Joanna Gusis, a Statistics and Political Theory and Constitutional Democracy senior in the Honors College, and Stephen Lewis, a Social Relations and Policy junior, automatically qualified to the NDT after being designated as one of the top sixteen teams in the country.
Isabella Foster, a philosophy and film freshman in the Honors College, and Henry Martin, a physics and philosophy freshman in the Honors College, qualified to the NDT through a district qualification process in February.
Foster and Martin are one of the most successful first year duos in the country. They were in elimination rounds earlier this semester at the Georgetown Tournament and the Navy Tournament.
“Henry and Isabella had a phenomenal second semester,” said Will Repko, MSU Debate Head Coach. “They have clocked some huge wins and we’re excited that they’ll have the opportunity to debate at the NDT.”
To qualify three teams, the third team from a school needs to rank as one of the top six third teams nationally. Qualifiers are determined by a vote from coaches all over the country.
Based on their season-long success, Arielle Gearring, a Political Theory and Constitutional Democracy senior, and Hina Shehzad, an International Relations junior, were selected.
Gearring and Shehzad reached elimination rounds at the Texas Tournament and participated in the Baird Debates Round Robin – an invitation-only tournament for eight elite teams.
“Arielle and Hina had an extremely strong resume – not just amongst the third teams but compared to anyone who’s qualified to the NDT. Their invitation is immensely deserved and is a testament to how well they’ve done,” said Repko.
MSU Debate has qualified three teams to six of the last eight National Debate Tournaments including last year.
Only 78 teams nationally qualify to attend the NDT each year out of hundreds of teams that participate in the qualification process.
MSU has a history of success at the National Debate Tournament – the team has qualified for 30 consecutive years and has won the tournament three times.
The NDT will be hosted by the University of Houston in Houston, Texas at the end of March.
The MSU Debate team is part of the Honors College.