2019-2020 Academic Year

UCSD Debate Team Challenges East Coast Titans…Again. Finishes Second! 

Over the weekend of July 18-19, the American Parliamentary Debate Association sponsored an online debate tournament, exclusively featuring the APDA debate format (two-on-two debate, somewhat similar to the more-standard NPDA format). APDA is a format largely practiced amidst East Coast schools. 

Teams from M.I.T., the University of Massachusetts, Tufts, and Columbia were present. UCSD entered one team, Mr. JT Melton and Mr. Anoop Gunwardhena. Although entered in the Novice Division, the limited entries (16 schools) motivated tourney administrators to collapse the tourney into a single division. 

Despite the APDA format being new to our UCSD team, Mr. Gunwardhena carried UCSD (literally by himself,  due to unforeseen circumstances preventing his partner from continuing on the second day) to the final round. Although not victorious in the finals, this amazing outcome continues to demonstrate the versatility and talent of UCSD’s Speech and Debate team members. 

Coach Campbell remarked, “For the second time this year, we have “visited” the East Coast and made our mark. I am confident that our fledgling team can compete strongly against any program—regardless of their legacy—and in any debate format chosen. I am exceptionally proud of Anoop in reaching the finals literally by himself!” 

The UCSD Speech & Debate Team is sponsored by UCSD’s Rady School of Management and UCSD Student Affairs. 

UCSD Debate Team Competes Internationally 

“To boldly go where no UCSD Speech & Debate team has gone before” was the weekend mission of six team members. On July 11 and 12, the team competed, via cyberspace (no video/solely voice), against 33  institutions in the “Imitation Cup”. This tournament solely featured the British Parliamentary (BP) format of debate—a style in which only half of the UCSD team had ever experienced and only the second tournament experience in BP for the other half. (BP is considered the universal debate format for worldwide competitions.) 

Sarah Kagzi and Kaiwen Tsou took on the 30-participant Novice Division, while two teams—Jasmine Moheb with Kaitlyn Willoughby and Arunav Gupta with Solomon Siu–took on the 124-participant Varsity Division in five preliminary rounds. 

The tournament, emanating from eastern Canada and, thus, held in the Eastern Time Zone, began both days with rounds starting at 6:30 a.m. PST. Schools from all over the world entered their very best, with UCSD  being the only school to enter three teams. The Imitation Cup was truly an international tournament as, for example, teams participated from the United Kingdom, India, China, Malaysia, and the United Arab Emirates.  For further example, teams were present from Stanford, Princeton, Duke, UC Berkeley, Yale, Cambridge,  Cornell, Beihang University (Beijing, China), University of Ottawa (Canada), King’s College London, and NYU  Abu Dhabi. 

Amidst the hundreds of competitors, Sarah Kagzi finished 23rd and Kaiwen Tsou finished 29th in total tournament overall speaker points. Although no UCSD team advanced to the elimination rounds, UCSD’s international footprint has been placed. 

Head Coach Robert Campbell commented, “Our team felt this was the most competitive tournament in which they’ve ever participated. One of our team, Anoop Gudwardhena, joined in coaching our six competitors as  they focused practicing the (excuse the pun) ‘foreign” format for four weeks prior to the tourney.” 

“I am always impressed by this team, but especially so by the dedication of this group on their “summer vacation”! Given this international performance, I see no limits to the possibilities for UCSD Speech & Debate.  Indeed, I expect this team to live long…and prosper,” Coach Campbell added. 

The UCSD Speech & Debate Team is sponsored by UCSD’s Rady School of Management and UCSD Student  Affairs.

UCSD Speech & Debate Team Finishes Season on Top 

Eighteen schools—mostly from California, but from as far away as Pennsylvania—met in cyberspace to  participate in what is likely the final speech and debate tournament for the 2019-2020 season. PSCFA’s Cool Off tournament for Novices and Rookies was held May 2, 3, 2020 and feature debate competition in IPDA  (one-on-one debate) and 10 speech events. 

Only five UCSD team members were eligible for Novice events. Two competed in debate, while three entered only three speech events. Yet, with these sparse numbers, the team performance was remarkable. 

Among four-year universities, UCSD won the tournament Sweepstakes Award—top honors overall in the entire tournament. (San Diego State University, also with five team members entered, finished third in the  sweepstakes competition.) 

Sarah Kagzi, a freshman competing in her first-ever IPDA competition, won the Gold Medal. Her first place finish followed what she described as a tough, very close Final Round. 

Alex Zhao, sweeping aside all competition, glided to his Gold Medal and first place finish in the speech event, Cultural Artifact. 

In Extemporaneous speech, Jake Garmo earned the Silver Medal second place award. 

In Impromptu speech, Alex Zhao continued his excellence by capturing the Bronze medal third place award, while Anoop Gunwardhena was a Finalist. 

Head Coach Robert Campbell concluded, “This team has finished its second amazing season. It has demonstrated resilience amidst the chaos of the pandemic and closed out the season with what is becoming a tradition of UCSD Speech & Debate: winning!” 

The UCSD Speech & Debate Team is sponsored by UCSD’s Rady School of Management and UCSD Student  Affairs.

UCSD Debate Team Refuses to Quit; Finds Tournament; Wins! 

Most collegiate speech and debate teams have called it a season. With the worldwide pandemic–thus  inability to travel or hold tournaments on campuses–most teams are merely hoping for normalcy to return next Fall. But not UCSD Speech & Debate; not your Tritons. 

In a style reflecting the “entrepreneurial spirit” of UCSD’s Speech and Debate Team’s host, the Rady School of Management, four debaters found a faraway tournament, swiftly learned a new debating format, competed, and won! Actually, they won BIG! 

Several of the team searched for online tournaments and found not only a tournament, but also one using a completely new debating format somewhat foreign to the West Coast. 

This last weekend, four UCSD Debaters travelled all the way to their computers to compete in an  Online/Facebook-based competition, featuring the American Parliamentary Debate Association (APDA) debating format. (APDA is somewhat similar to NPDA two-on-two debate rounds, with hybrid rules from  NPDA and British Parliamentary debate formats.) 

APDA debating format is most common on the East Coast, thus UCSD took on debaters from Yale, John  Hopkins, Columbia, Tufts, and many other schools. 

In their first ever APDA tournament, UCSD’s two debate teams were so successful, they “closed out” the tournament in the Novice Division. Closing out a tournament means that, when the Final Round is scheduled,  both teams in the finals are from the same school! 

UCSD’s team of Bella Lalanne and Arunav Gupta ended up facing UCSD’s team of Jasmine Moheb and Jake  Ryan. (Judges volunteered to actually hold the final round—rarely done during a close-out result—and  Lalanne and Gupta emerged on top.) In the tournament speaking awards, Jake Ryan took First Place, with  Jasmine Moheb and Bella Lalanne close behind in Third and Fourth Places, respectfully. Arunav Gupta also finished Seventh.  

Head Coach Robert Campbell observed, “Considerable credit goes to Jake Ryan, who had some familiarity with the APDA debate format and conducted coaching sessions for the four competitors the prior week. It is  amazing that our first “trip” to the East Coast ends with closing out the tournament. We are grateful that the  East Coast schools graciously welcomed us to this event. Clearly, the “national footprint” of UCSD Speech and  Debate has been solidly planted.” 

Recognizing the “academic roots” and national championship team debating experience of their Head Coach,  one UCSD debater remarked, “There’s a new KU in town!!”, referring to the five-time national championship team at the University of Kansas. 

The UCSD Speech & Debate Team is sponsored by UCSD’s Rady School of Management and UCSD Student  Affairs.

UCSD Debate Team Refuses to Quit; Finds Tournament; Wins! 

Most collegiate speech and debate teams have called it a season. With the worldwide pandemic–thus  inability to travel or hold tournaments on campuses–most teams are merely hoping for normalcy to return next Fall. But not UCSD Speech & Debate; not your Tritons. 

In a style reflecting the “entrepreneurial spirit” of UCSD’s Speech and Debate Team’s host, the Rady School of  Management, four debaters found a faraway tournament, swiftly learned a new debating format, competed, and won! Actually, they won BIG! 

Several of the team searched for online tournaments and found not only a tournament, but also one using a  completely new debating format somewhat foreign to the West Coast. 

This last weekend, four UCSD Debaters traveled all the way to their computers to compete in an  Online/Facebook-based competition, featuring the American Parliamentary Debate Association (APDA)  debating format. (APDA is somewhat similar to NPDA two-on-two debate rounds, with hybrid rules from  NPDA and British Parliamentary debate formats.) 

APDA debating format is most common on the East Coast, thus UCSD took on debaters from Yale, John  Hopkins, Columbia, Tufts, and many other schools. 

In their first ever APDA tournament, UCSD’s two debate teams were so successful, they “closed out” the tournament in the Novice Division. Closing out a tournament means that, when the Final Round is scheduled,  both teams in the finals are from the same school! 

UCSD’s team of Bella Lalanne and Arunav Gupta ended up facing UCSD’s team of Jasmine Moheb and Jake  Ryan. (Judges volunteered to actually hold the final round—rarely done during a close-out result—and  Lalanne and Gupta emerged on top.) In the tournament speaking awards, Jake Ryan took First Place, with  Jasmine Moheb and Bella Lalanne close behind in Third and Fourth Places, respectfully. Arunav Gupta also  finished Seventh.  

Head Coach Robert Campbell observed, “Considerable credit goes to Jake Ryan, who had some familiarity with the APDA debate format and conducted coaching sessions for the four competitors the prior week. It is  amazing that our first “trip” to the East Coast ends with closing out the tournament. We are grateful that the  East Coast schools graciously welcomed us to this event. Clearly, the “national footprint” of UCSD Speech and  Debate has been solidly planted.” 

Recognizing the “academic roots” and national championship team debating experience of their Head Coach,  one UCSD debater remarked, “There’s a new KU in town!!”, referring to the five-time national championship team at the University of Kansas. 

The UCSD Speech & Debate Team is sponsored by UCSD’s Rady School of Management and UCSD Student  Affairs.

Gold (Medals) is the Color for UCSD at PSCFA Spring Championships Tournament 

The Pacific Southwest Collegiate Forensics Association (PSCFA) “Spring Championships” Tournament is the organization’s “flagship” tournament, culminating the 2019-20 speech and debate season in Southern  California. This past weekend, the tourney was held at Palomar College, February 21, 22, and 23, and, in only their second season, UCSD Speakers and Debaters returned to dominate the competition. 

Larger than last season’s tournament, UCSD competed against 30 other schools, from as far away as Virginia.  Despite the UCSD team entering fewer events than last season, when the tourney concluded–for the second year in a row–UCSD won the 3rd Place Sweepstakes Award for Four-Year Universities. The UCSD team outperformed all of the out-of-state universities, and, of course, all but two other California schools. 

The first day of the tournament featured NPDA (two-on-two debate) competition. UCSD’s team of Jake  Garmo & Arunav Gupta secured the 1st Place Gold award. Arunav Gupta earned the 2nd Place Speaker Award,  while teammate Jake Garmo earned 5th Place. 

The second day of the tournament was devoted to British Parliamentary (BP) debate and IPDA (one-on-one debate) competition. In the Open (Senior) Division of BP, the team of Katherine McGraw and Arunav Gupta earned the Gold Medal for 1st Place. In the Novice Division of NPDA, Anoop Gunwardhena captured 2nd Place  Silver, while Jake Garmo returned this second day to earn the 3rd Place Bronze award. 

The final day of the tournament consisted of a variety of Individual Speaking Events. Christian Kim achieved  Finalist status, finishing in 4th Place in two events in the Junior Division: Extemporaneous and Impromptu  Speech. Meanwhile, both Preston Le and Alex Zhao, did not prevail, but made it to the final round in the  Cultural Artifact event. 

Head Coach Robert Campbell observed, “It’s rewarding to watch this team grow, compete, and win! Three-day tournaments are grueling, especially when, occasionally, the sky opens up and drenches everybody. But the rain did not slow our competitors down one bit. Their hard work in practices every week paid off. Plus, this was only the second tournament in team history in which we entered the British Parliamentary competition.  We would not have even known about this event were it not for the hard work of new team members, Miyuki  Shiraki and Natsuha Nakane. They insisted we try BP and competed strongly at this tournament alongside their teammates and Gold Medal winners. It was a great team effort!” 

The UCSD Speech & Debate Team now prepares for the National Tournament occurring at the end of March on the campus of San Diego State. 

The UCSD Speech & Debate Club is sponsored by UCSD’s Rady School of Management and UCSD Student  Affairs. 

UCSD Debaters Return to Southern California’s Prestigious Sunset Cliffs Tournament 

In this second season for the rekindled UCSD Speech and Debate team, the team returned to Point Loma  Nazarene University’s “Sunset Cliffs” Speech and Debate tournament (held February 8 & 9, 2020). The Sunset  Cliffs tournament is one of the oldest and largest in Southern California and this year attracted competition from Arizona, Illinois, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Colorado, Texas, and Washington–27 schools, including an array of  Southern California colleges and universities. 

Yet, this young team found ways to win! Stepping up the caliber of competition by entering the Junior Division of NPDA (two-on-two debate), the team of Elmar Sadygov and John Melton reached the Quarterfinals. 

Meanwhile, in the Novice Division of Impromptu Speaking—competing in only his second collegiate competition, Christian Kim earned 1st Place. In the same event, Preston Le finished in 5th Place. 

Also in the Novice Division of Extemporaneous Speaking—and, again, competing in only their second collegiate competition, Sarah Kagzi captured the 3rd Place trophy, while Christian Kim followed in 4th Place. 

The UCSD Speech & Debate Club is sponsored by UCSD’s Rady School of Management.

UCSD Novice Debaters Challenged in First Two Higher Division Tournaments of 2020 

Over the weekend, the UCSD Speech & Debate Team traveled to Orange Coast College (OCC) for two tournaments (Saturday sponsored by OCC and Sunday sponsored by Mt. San Antonio College, together called the Close-to-the-Coast tournament) January 18 & 19. UCSD’s largely novice team faced Open Division entries  from 16 schools on Saturday and 19 schools on Sunday, coming from as far away as Concordia College in  Minnesota. Our team’s results were dramatically different for last season’s efforts at these tournaments when our novices were competing in the Novice Division and enjoying great success. 

But, due to too few Novice Division entries from other schools, all UCSD competitors were entered into the  Open (Senior) Division, increasing the intensity of the competition. 

For the first time, the team faced team-wide disappointment as, on Saturday, no entries in Debate nor Speech events reached the elimination rounds. 

Sunday, though, success returned for UCSD, as JT Melton earned 3rd place in Lincoln-Douglas (one-on-one debating a national topic) Debate and Bella Lalanne fell only in the final round in IPDA (one-on-one) Debate,  earning 2nd place in the tournament. 

Head Coach Robert Campbell observed, “Clearly our team was disappointed. But the Division challenge must be respected. Our novices were taking on two levels higher by competing with Open Division entries. I  believe it was a valuable experience; we know we have a lot of work to do. The season is very young and great  tournaments lie ahead.” 

UCSD’s Debate Team Captures Largest Trophy in Team History 

Amidst a banquet table covered with red and gold gleaming trophies stood the singular “Open Division Debate  Sweepstakes for Four-Year Schools” to be presented at the Dahlin Tournament–sponsored by Palomar College on the campus of Grossmont College—held last Friday, November 22, 2019. Surpassing all present four-year schools, such as Arizona State, San Diego State, Azusa Pacific, and Point Loma Nazarene, two IPDA (one-on-one) debaters—a freshman and a sophomore—captured the trophy for UCSD. Both Elmar Sadygov and Hao  Wei reached the semi-finals and finished there with 5th and 6th place all-tournament speaker awards. 

After this weekend “warm-up”, UCSD’s Speech & Debate team returned to Grossmont College for Grossmont’s  Griffin Tournament, consisting of two separate contests Saturday and Sunday, November 23rd and 24th. 

In Open Division IPDA, Arunav Gupta, Ian Mallory, and Katherine McGraw advanced to the Bronze (3rd place)  Round, while Moksha Poladi—in her first collegiate competition—won 1st place in the Novice Division of  Persuasive Speech. 

In the Junior Division of NPDA (two-on-two) Debate, two UCSD teams advanced to the Silver level (2nd place).  Arunav Gupta and Katherine McGraw comprised one team, while Praveen Nair and Jake Garmo comprised the second team. Jake Garmo was competing in his first debate tournament ever! Arunav Gupta also secured the  1st place speaker award overall and Katherine McGraw secured the 5th place speaker award. 

In Novice Division NPDA, Joseph Berck and Samyak Kamavat captured Gold (1st place).

UCSD’s head coach, Robert Campbell, noted, “A year ago, these two tournaments were the first ones we could attend, as we were just getting organized back then. We had a great “first weekend” in 2018 winning 20  awards with our novice team. This year—due to experience and a great executive board of debate team leaders—these two tournaments were our fifth and sixth of the Quarter. Competing in all divisions, we ended  Fall Quarter superbly, with the very tall Sweepstakes Trophy—the largest trophy ever earned by a UCSD  Speech & Debate team–as icing on the cake.”

The UCSD Speech & Debate Club is sponsored by UCSD’s Rady School of Management.

UCSD’s Debate Team Seizes Silver at One-Day Tournament 

Eight UCSD Debate Teams competed in Irvine Valley College’s “Gary Rybold Tournament” held November 15.  This NPDA (two-on-two) Debate-Only Tournament featured both Novice and Junior Divisions. Of the eight UCSD teams, five made it out of the preliminary rounds to the Bronze Elimination Level. 

In the Gold Final Round of the Junior Division, the team of Jasmine Moheb and JT Melton finally fell to El  Camino College, ending their run with 2nd place (Silver) in the tournament. In the Bronze Semi-Final Round,  four other UCSD teams also competed: Russell Chiang and Jack Walsh; Elmar Sadygov and Jake Ryan; along with Akshat Donti and Tyler Jang finishing 3rd overall, and Aaron Applegate and Arunav Gupta earning 4th place  in the tournament. 

For speaking awards, Arunav Gupta finished in 3rd place, while Jack Walsh finished 6th and Tyler Jang earned  8th place. Also, Jasmine Moheb captured the 10th place speaker award. 

In the Bronze Semi-Final Round in the Novice Division, Itzel Mayorga and Nick Towns finished 5th in the tournament, while Julia Poon and William Gibbons were right behind, finishing in 6th place. 

Nick Towns earned the 10th place speaker award in the Novice Division. 

UCSD’s head coach, Robert Campbell, observed, “This was a small, one-day tourney featuring nine southern  California schools. To have the majority of our entered teams competing in the Elimination Rounds at the end of the day was a great achievement. Finishing second in the tournament in the Junior Division was icing on the cake.” 

The UCSD Speech & Debate Club is sponsored by UCSD’s Rady School of Management.

“Life’s a Beach” for UCSD’s Speech & Debate Team 

UCSD’s Speech & Debate Team competed in Cal State Long Beach’s “Fall at the Beach” tournament held November 1, 2, 3. Three Novice Division debate teams, whose six members were enjoying either their very first or second intercollegiate contest, finished strongly. While the team of Bella Lalanne and Jake Ryan earned 2nd place in the tournament, Jake Ryan earned the top speaker award. Following Jake closely was his partner, as Bella Lalanne earned the 3rd place speaker award. Additionally, Hao Wei earned the 4th place speaker award in this Novice NPDA Debate Division. 

“Fall at the Beach” is a unique tournament, because, following the debate competition, the tournament holds two separate days of speech event competition. 

In the Saturday speech event competition, Kaiwen Tsou earned 1st place in the Novice Division of  Extemporaneous speaking, while Elmar Sadygov was close behind, finishing in 3rd place. In the Open Division  (advanced) of Prose, Julia Poon earned 4th place, while Christina Howitson owned 5th place in both the  Informative and Persuasive speech competitions. 

The pattern of success continued Sunday. In the Novice Division, Itzel Mayorga captured 2nd place in  Impromptu speaking, while Samyak Kamavat finished 5th. Surpassing her Saturday performance, Julia Poon earned 3rd place in Prose in the Open Division. Meanwhile, Tiffany Nguyen finished 4th in Prose in the Novice  Division, as Elmar Sadygov captured 4th place in Extemporaneous speaking and Itzel Mayorga earned 5th place in the Informative event.  

UCSD’s head coach, Robert Campbell, reported, “We were challenged by 13 schools from all over the southwestern United States, including Northern Arizona University, Arizona State, and Rice University from  Texas. Our team rose to the occasion and did so well, the tournament host ran out of awards. Some of our  awards cited above are currently “in the mail”.” 

The UCSD Speech & Debate Club is sponsored by UCSD’s Rady School of Management.

UCSD’s Speech & Debate Team Win BIG at 2nd Tournament of the 2019-20 Season 

Bathed in the warm Fall sunshine of Southern California, 16 UCSD Speech Competitors and Debaters gathered on the campus of El Camino College in Torrance for the “Crossman Invitational Speech & Debate  Tournament”–held October 19 & 20–to compete against 14 Southern California schools. The team’s performance–especially among novice competitors, wherein this was their first-ever college-level tournament–was, in their coach’s words, “Stunning”. 

For perspective, there are three major divisions of intercollegiate debate: Novice, Junior, and, at the highest level, Open. In debate, there is both NPDA (two against two) and IPDA (one against one) events. Debate competitions also award top speakers overall in the tournament. 

Although the team did not advance to the elimination rounds in the Open Division of NPDA, Kaitlyn  Willoughby earned 5th place, while Jasmine Moheb won 8th place in the overall tournament Speaker Awards. 

In the Junior Division of NPDA, our team of Juliette Nguyen and Nick Graves won silver as they placed second  in the tourney. Juliette also earned the 4th place Speaker Award, while Nick came in 5th. 

In the Novice Division of NPDA, UCSD “closed out” the tournament! (A “closeout” occurs when all the  remaining teams are from one school.) While Itzel Mayorga and Nick Towns advanced to the Quarterfinals,  the team of Bella Lalanne and Katherine McGraw, along with the team of Elmar Sadygov and Saul Chaplin closed the tournament, finishing 1st and 2nd, respectfully. Bella earned 2nd place speaker overall, while  Katherine placed 3rd and Nick Towns placed 10th. 

In the Open Division of IPDA, 2nd place was awarded to Nick Graves. 

In the Novice Division of IPDA, the top three Gold Level (1st place) winners were all from UCSD. Katherine  McGraw, Saul Chaplin, and Harris McLeod all took home Gold. 

In the individual speech events, UCSD also scored. A special “Outstanding Performance by a Novice in the  Open Division (a tournament classification error) was awarded to Tiffany Nguyen, who competed strongly in  the Prose event. 

In the Novice Division, Matthew Maga was a finalist in Persuasive speaking, while Nick Towns placed 2nd in  Impromptu speaking. 

For the Tournament Sweepstakes awards (an award to best school performance overall), 2nd place among four-year schools went to UCSD.

UCSD’s head coach, Robert Campbell, commented, “I am amazed by the performance of our new team  members. Their hard work, coupled with excellent coaching from other, more experienced team members,  paid off big time. And, as always, we represented UCSD in style, as a subsequent message from the Crossman  tournament director praised our performance and professionalism. It was a great weekend! Now, off to UC  Berkeley next weekend for a unique experience.” 

The UCSD Speech & Debate Club is sponsored by UCSD’s Rady School of Management.

In 2nd Season, UCSD’s Speech & Debate Team Resumes Winning Tradition 

Building on the team’s infrastructure and organization established last season, UCSD’s Speech & Debate Team initiated the 2019-20 season by attending the Aztec Invitational at San Diego State University this last weekend (October 5 and 6). Improved planning processes enable eager returning team members (seven debaters and five speakers) to begin UCSD’s season six weeks earlier than last year. Schools (26) from all over  California and from Arizona and Colorado attended the tourney. 

Gavin D’Elia, the team’s President and Team Captain, entered–for his first time ever–the Extemporaneous  Speech event, Novice Division, and earned Second Place. 

Senior Debater, Nicholas Graves, rose to the Quarterfinals in IPDA (one-on-one) Open Division debate competition. 

Meanwhile, in the Novice Division of IPDA debate, two UCSD debaters reached the Final Four. Kaiwen Tsou finished 3rd by reaching the Semifinals. Ending Sunday evening on a very high note, Ian Mallory climbed all the way to the Final Round and placed 2nd. 

UCSD’s head coach, Robert Campbell, commented, “UCSD’s unique “Quarter System” puts us a little behind other schools who are on the “Semester System” and who have already completed a couple of tournaments before we even return to campus. Our team was racing to get out on the circuit earlier than our first season and I was impressed that 12 of our team were ready to compete so early and did so well. It’s a great start to  what appears to be another great season.”