Baylor Debate Team Ranked #12 to end Fall Semester

John Cook and Ashley Morgan, Seniors, were ranked the #12 individual debate team in the nation, according to the final Debate Coaches Poll, released on December 1st. At the end of the regular season, in February, the top 16 individual debate teams will receive an at-large invitation to the National Debate Tournament (NDT). Baylor has not received an at-large invitation to the NDT since 1997, although Cook and Morgan did reach the Quarterfinals at the 2011 NDT. The 2012 NDT will be held at Emory University, in Atlanta, Georgia, in late March.

Rankings can be seen here:
http://www.cedadebate.org/forum/index.php?topic=2998.0

Baylor Debaters in Quarterfinals at Wake Forest and Kentucky

Baylor Seniors John Cook and Ashley Morgan, Baylor's top individual debating team, reached the Quarterfinals of the Wake Forest University tournament, held on November 12-24th, 2011. They defeated the #5-seeded team from Northwestern in the Double-Octas, and then defeated Missouri State on a 3-0 decision in the Octafinals to reach the Elite 8. The Wake tournament is one of the largest and most competitive in the nation, and represents the end to the Fall semester of competition. Cook and Morgan also reached the Quarterfinals at Kentucky in October, where they defeated teams from Trinity and UT-Dallas in the elimination rounds, before losing to eventual-champion Georgetown.

Baylor Debate reaches elims at Georgia State, Missouri State, UNLV, and UCO

Baylor debaters Nate Ford and Kendall Kaut reached the elimination rounds at the 2011 season-opening tournament at Georgia State University. Ford and Kaut also posted 5-3 records at the Kentucky and Wake Forest tournaments this Fall. This team qualified for the NDT last season, andthey are on-track to reach the national championships for a second straight year. Grant Nelson and Sam Hogan, both Seniors, reached the elimination rounds at the UNLV and UCO tournaments. Baylor first-year debaters Carly Evans and Bradley White reached the elimination rounds at the 'Bear Shock", held at Missouri State University.

2011 National Debate Tournament Quarterfinalists

John Cook and Ashley Morgan, both Juniors, capped an outstanding season by advancing to the Quarterfinals of the 2011 NDT. This was Baylor's deepest run at the NDT since 1996, when Baylor advanced to the Final Four.

Front Row: John Cook, Ashley Morgan, Amanda Luppes (Grad Asst), Nate Ford
Back Row: Dr. Matt Gerber, Alex McVey (Grad Asst), Kyle Vint (Grad Asst), Kendall Kaut, Dr. Scott Varda

Other 2010-2011 Debate Season News