After months of hard work and dedicated practice, Rutgers Mock Trial secured two bids to the Open Round Championship Series (ORCS)! RUMTA's teams competed on February 3rd and 4th at American University's Regional Tournament in Washington, D.C., and well as University of Richmond's Regional Tournament in Richmond, VA. ORCS is the semi-final level of competition in collegiate mock trial, to which only the top 7 teams at Regional tournaments advance. RUMTA's A & B teams will be advancing to ORCS.
With a record of 7 wins and a competitive score (CS) of 15, A-Team won 2nd place out of 24 teams! They faced rounds against Seton Hall University, Gettysburg University, Fordham University-Lincoln Center, and Drexel University. "We faced some tough teams and had a few nail-biters, but ultimately the time and effort we put in worked in our favor," said A-Team captain Michael Nanchanatt. RUMTA also congratulates Mike Kleynman for his All-Regional Attorney Award with 17 ranks. Congratulations to A-Team for an incredible performance this weekend!
A-Team, left to right: Humayoon Hashmi, Mike Kleynman, Rohit Purma, Michael Nanchanatt (captain), Christine Botvinnik, Nicoletta Eby (president), Katie Dale, Robert Servilio
Coming in 5th place overall with a record of 6-2 and a CS of 16 was RUMTA's B-Team. They competed against teams from Temple University, Fordham University-Lincoln Center, University of Pennsylvania, and Fordham University-Rose Hill. This accomplishment was not lost on B-Team's captain, Anu Chugh: "Despite being less experienced than our competition, we came out on top - it was talent, teamwork, and a burning desire to succeed that got us there." Congrats to Hasin Tasneem on her All-Regional Witness Award as pharmacologist Ryan Reeves, and to the rest of B-Team for their well-earned victory!
B-Team, left to right: Karan Malhotra, Zaniah Maynor (coach), Zoe Chang, Shivangi Patel, Aabha Joshi, Anu Chugh (captain), Hasin Tasneem, Lucy Huang, Michelle Fishman
Meanwhile, C-Team competed at the University of Virginia's Regional Tournament in Richmond, VA. They competed against Drexel University, Elon University, William and Mary, and University of Maryland. RUMTA congratulates sophomore Ryan Ruffin on his All-Regional Witness Award with 17 ranks. Congratulations to C-Team for an amazing performance and an amazing season!
C-Team, left to right: Christine Tran, Michael Luckhowec, Zachary Newman, Aasha Shaik (captain), Ryan Ruffin, Ajoke Adetula, Veronica Bido
President Nicoletta Eby comments on this weekend and RUMTA's next steps: "I'm incredibly proud of our team and everything that we've accomplished this weekend. Our organization has made tremendous progress since the Fall and I am looking forward to the rest of our season. Our success at Regionals would not have been possible without our coaches, alumni, sponsors, and competitors." Special thanks to our coaching staff: head coach Michael Roberts and assistant coaches Zaniah Maynor, Rachael Holt, and Anish Patel. Your time and dedication are what helped RUMTA to victory this weekend!
Left to right: Zaniah Maynor (Assistant Coach), Anu Chugh (B-Team Captain), Nicoletta Eby (President), Michael Nanchanatt (A-Team Captain), Michael Roberts (Head Coach).
Next month, the A and B-Teams will be competing at the Wilmington ORCS hosted by the University of Delaware - Widener Law School on March 10-11.