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On November 19-21st, the UMass Mock Trial team hosted its first ever mock trial tournament at the Isenberg School of Management. Twenty-two teams were in attendance including Trinity, Tufts, Villanova, Case Western, Princeton, Brown, and Boston University. With over 200 students running through Isenberg this weekend, the tournament was also host to many visiting UMass faculty, attorneys, and professors from the local area who helped judge the tournament. The Mock Trial team was pleased to enjoy sponsorship from Western New England College School of Law, in addition to the help from the Political Science Department and Student Legal Services.
Overall, the tournament was a huge success. According to tournament director and team co-captain Adam Maidman, everything ran smoothly with the help of participating judges and UMass Catering Services. The trials ran well, and many teams were pleased with the organization and management of the tournament.
UMass Mock Trial walked away with a well-earned 3rd Place Trophy (out of 22) at closing ceremonies Sunday afternoon, beating other teams like Tufts, Princeton, Boston University and Case Western. Additionally, team co-captain Joseph Mendes won an Outstanding Attorney Award, while senior member Alysson Gray earned an award for Outstanding Witness. This victory paralleled UMass' success at the Tufts Mock Trial Tournament just a week earlier, when they shocked the Ivy League community by winning 3rd place out of 18.
The team now plans to take a break from a busy first semester full of tournaments and practices and fundraisers. After generating exceptional revenue from the tournament, UMass Mock Trial will try to compete in other tournaments early second semester, in addition to finding office space or trophy cabinets to display their well-earned hardware for the student body.
Thanks to the help of Student Legal Services attorney Corey Carvalho and UMass Pre-Law Advisor Diane Curtis, in addition to their on-campus sponsors, UMass Mock Trial has gained enormous prestige and recognition as one of the best student groups on campus. Such growth and success after only three years is unparalleled at this university.
If you wish to contact the captains of the team, please email umassmock@gmail.com [1]
For further information, you can visit the Mock Trial page under the Student Groups tab on the Political Science website.
News Type:
- Student News