Published on September 21, 2022 by Ryan Galloway  
(Courtesy: Samford Debate)
(Courtesy: Samford Debate)

At the first debate tournament of the season hosted by Northwestern University, the Samford Novice Debate Team of Abby Montgomery and Grace Scott went undefeated in the preliminary rounds and advanced to the final four of the tournament. The duo defeated teams from George Mason University, Liberty University, the University of Indiana, the University of Houston, and Trinity University. Scott was named fourth speaker of the tournament.

The team of Libby Hutchinson and Praise Kelly-Williams also competed in the novice division, advancing to the elite eight and defeated multiple teams from Liberty University. Kelly-Williams was named the tenth speaker of the tournament.

The team of Joey Tarnowski and Aaron Gill competed in the Varsity division, defeating teams from New York University, Harvard, and Tufts University. Grace Blackwell and TJ Riggs also competed in Varsity, defeating teams from the University of Wyoming and the University of Georgia.

“These victories set us up well for the rest of the season and build momentum for the fall tournaments," said Samford Debate Executive Director Ryan Galloway. 

The team competes at the University of Kentucky debate tournament in the next two weeks.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.