MSU Debate had three teams in elimination debates at the Texas Open debates hosted by the University of Texas last weekend.
Joanna Gusis, a Statistics and Political Theory and Constitutional Democracy senior in the Honors College, and Stephen Lewis, a Social Relations and Policy junior, reached elimination debates after wins over teams Wake Forest University, Missouri State University, George Mason University, Western Kentucky University, and the University of Southern California.
In addition to their success as a team, Gusis was named the tournament’s eighteenth overall speaker out of a field of over 250 debaters from all over the country. 
Isabella Foster, a philosophy and film first year in the Honors College, and Henry Martin, a physics and philosophy first year in the Honors College, reached elimination debates after defeating teams from the University of Kansas, Baylor University, George Mason University, Liberty University, the University of Michigan, and Wake Forest University.
Foster and Martin were one of the only duos in elimination debates who were both first year students. They were also in elimination rounds earlier this semester at the Georgetown Tournament and the Navy Tournament.
Arielle Gearring, a Political Theory and Constitutional Democracy senior, and Hina Shehzad, an International Relations junior, reached elimination debates after wins over teams from Harvard University, New York University, Emory University, George Mason University, and the University of Kansas.
Gearring and Shehzad finished out the second semester strong after previously reaching the semifinals at the Navy Tournament.
“It was a great weekend with lots of wins to be proud of,” said Will Repko, MSU Debate Head Coach. “We had a lot of close debates and felt like we were debating well.”
MSU was also represented at the tournament by Glen Scully, a computer science senior, and Zaria Jarman, a Political Theory and Constitutional Democracy junior who achieved four wins in preliminary debates.
The Texas Open is the last regular season tournament of the year. MSU Debate now focuses on qualifying for national championships and then competing at ADA Nationals and the National Debate Tournament.
The MSU Debate team is part of the Honors College.