Posted by Mary Wimberley on 2009-09-23

Samford University varsity debaters began the year by finishing 32nd out of 188 teams at a weekend tournament at Georgia State University in Atlanta.

Dan Bagwell and Logan Gramzinski advanced to the elimination rounds by beating, among others, a top 16 team from Emory University and a Cross Examination Debate Association national championship team from Towson University.

They are now ranked 23rd in the nation in CEDA rankings and 21st in National Debate Tournament rankings, according to debate coach Abi Williams.

“Advancing to the elimination rounds at GSU sets Dan and Logan up as one of the best teams in the nation for the ’09-’10 season,” said Williams. “This is great for so early in the year.”

Also at the Georgia tournament, held Sept. 18-21, Samford  junior varsity debaters Kaitlin DeFoor and Jacob Lewis advanced to the final round of their division.  Lewis was named third best  individual speaker and DeFoor was named fifth best speaker among debaters from 30 teams.

 
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.