maincurve UC Library MyUC iLearn Webmail Home
title Media Relations Home

 

09-29-2006

Debate Team Places Third at Purdue University

 


Top (left to right) Tim Riley, Danny Lunsford, Taylor Bowman, Andy Wolfe, and Chris Felder; Bottom (left to right) Jamie Gregory, Sara Straub, Ana Ramey, Joe Owens, and Ashley Renee Honnold.

WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. - Eleven members of the University of the Cumberlands speech and debate team competed in the 2006 Boilermaker Invitational Speech and Debate Tournament held on September 15-17 at Purdue University. Over twenty schools attended the tournament from ten states, and nearly one hundred debate teams were entered in the competition. Cumberlands placed tenth overall in combined individual events and debate, winning six awards, and placed third in open parliamentary debate, behind only Western Kentucky University and Cedarville University.

Coach Jay Bourne said, "I am pleased that not one of our teams had a losing record going into outrounds, that they all had winning or even (3-3) scores. I am also proud of our varsity teams--one lost to the tournament champions and the other team won an elimination round against the top speaker in the country.”

The team of senior Sara Straub of Florence and sophomore Andy Wolfe of Escondido, Calif., reached the quarterfinal round at the tournament, advancing in octafinals past a Western Kentucky team that included Joelle Perry, the top speaker at the national parliamentary debate tournament last year.

The other advancing team from Cumberlands, sophomore Tim Riley of Georgetown and Danny Lusnford of Harlan, fell to a Creighton University team that went undefeated throughout the tournament and won first place. The other debate teams of senior Ashley Renee Honnold of Williamsburg and sophomore Jamie Gregory of Elkhart, Ind., and the team of freshman Chris Felder of Detroit and senior Ana Ramey of Houston both had 3-3 records after six rounds of preliminary competition.

Additionally, junior Joe Owens of Hazard won third place in program oral interpretation, and Jamie Gregory took fifth place in after dinner speaking. Freshman Taylor Bowman of Escondido, Calif., also contributed to team sweepstakes.

“Considering that we have only one returning debate team member with more than one year of experience, these are great results at one of the tougher competitions in the country. We're off to a good start this year, and I am looking forward to our next tournament in October," said Bourne.

University of the Cumberlands, located in Williamsburg, Kentucky, is a private liberal arts college in its 117th year of operation. Cumberlands offers four undergraduate degrees in 37 major fields of study, 30 minors and nine pre-professional programs, as well as online and accelerated, nontraditional programs for adults.