As RUMTA gears up for Regional Tournaments—which marks the beginning of the American Mock Trial Association’s (AMTA) National Tournament structure—each team has worked diligently to refine their skills, both in practices and competitions.
A and B Team officially kicked off the new year by competing at University of Michigan’s Wolverine Classic from January 16-17. At the Michigan Invitational, A-Team competed against teams from Xavier University, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Case Western University, and The Ohio State University. Meanwhile, B Team faced teams from Illinois University, University of Arizona, and Cincinnati University. Both A and B Team Captains, Zoe Chang and Neha Aluwalia, agreed that the competition was a valuable precursor to Regionals, which will be taking place in mid February for both teams.
Meanwhile, from January 23-24, RUMTA’s C-Team took on University of Florida’s Swamp Invitational where they faced teams from Florida State University, Georgia State University, Florida International University, and Duke University. C-Team Captain Michael Brestin expressed his pride for his teammates, noting how each competitor has made remarkable improvements since the beginning of the season.
The string of competitive weekends proved to be a success for Rutgers Mock Trial as three competitors walked away with individual awards. A-Team Captain Zoe Chang received a 19-rank Attorney Award at University of Michigan’s Invitational while C-Team competitors, Sarah Samdani and Kaavya Balamurugan, both received 16-rank Witness Awards at University of Florida’s Invitational. RUMTA congratulates our award-winning competitors and extends an especial praise to Sarah and Kaavya for winning their first awards as first-year competitors!
With the first ever virtual Regionals quickly approaching, each team feels well-equipped and excited to tackle the upcoming competitive season!