Hello RUMTA family! It’s been a while since we last caught up, so let’s run down the list of our latest accomplishments in the last two months. Starting off with Team Da Vinci, who competed at William and Mary’s Colonial Classic on October 14th and 15th. Team Da Vinci, led by Captain Kaavya Balamurugan, did spectacularly at the first tournament of the season, with newcomer Wasi Ullah coming back home with an outstanding attorney award (17 ranks) and returner Ayush Nimak achieving a perfect 20 ranks as a witness (the defendant, no less!)
Pictured above: Team Davinci, with award winners Wasi Ullah (left) and Ayush Nimak (right).
But the success didn’t stop there for Team DaVinci. Just two weeks later, at the Syracuse Orange Trial Tournament Open (OTTO), the Rutgers team won second place with a 6-2 record, the first team award of the season! Captain Kaavya Balamurugan won an outstanding attorney award with 17 ranks, newcomer Alex Devita scored 15 ranks as an outstanding witness, and Ayush Nimak came home with two awards — 17 ranks as an outstanding witness, and 16 ranks as an outstanding attorney. We are so proud of Team DaVinci’s success at OTTO, and can’t wait to see how they do at SKMTI this upcoming weekend!
Team DaVinci, from left to right: Felicia Chan, Mahati Chitti, Ayush Nimak, Kaavya Balamurugan, Gianella Rosado, Nohman Sohail, Wasi Ullah, Alex Devita, and volunteer driver Ash from Team Picasso!
Pictured above: Team Van Gogh in all of its glory. From left to right: Jonathan Shanahan, Alice Ko, Vicky Wei, Olivia Karanxha, Javier Correoso, John Bailon, Om Shah, and Habiba Sultan.
Team Van Gogh, led by captains Vicky Wei and Alice Ko, concluded their weekend at the University of Pennsylvania’s Quaker Classic by taking fourth place! Van Gogh competed against the University of Pennsylvania, George Washington University, The College of William & Mary, and Dartmouth College, coming away with an astonishing 6-2 record. Returner Habiba Sultan was awarded an Outstanding Attorney award after winning 18 ranks as the team’s prosecution opener, and captains Vicky and Alice both received Outstanding Witness awards for their 17-rank portrayals of defense and prosecution witnesses, respectively.
Pictured above: Captain Vicky Wei (left), Habiba Sultan (middle), and Captain Alice Ko (right), with their Outstanding awards.
The captains commented on their team’s success at their first invitational:
“I couldn't be prouder of Van Gogh's dedication and hard work leading up to our first invitational this season,” said Vicky Wei. “ We're excited to see how we can continue to excel in the competitions ahead”. Alice Ko chimed in, saying, “It's a true testament to our team's unity and effort that we achieved such a fantastic result at Penn. We are so proud to represent RUMTA at invitationals and to support our members in their success!”
We’re wishing Team Van Gogh success as they compete in Seton Hall University’s Pirate Invitational this upcoming weekend!
Team Picasso also competed this weekend, pulling off an impressive finish at Cornell University’s Big Red Invitational Classic. Attorney Maulikaa Manikantan was awarded with an Outstanding Attorney award for her role as the team’s prosecution closer, scoring 18 ranks. The team’s captain, Llewelyn Levett, had this to say about his team’s performance at Cornell:
Cornell was a blast for Team Picasso! There were many learning opportunities but even more opportunities to show off. I'm extremely proud of all my team members for all their amazing effort leading up to and during the invitational. I can't wait to see how much we can improve upon our already amazing performance in the next two invitationals during the fall season!
Outstanding Attorney Maulikaa Manikantan.
We are certainly proud of our competitors for such a successful beginning to their season, and can’t wait to watch them continue to amaze us moving forward! Coming up in the next few weeks are Rutgers University’s very own Scarlet Knight Mock Trial Invitational (SKMTI), and Seton Hall University’s Pirate Invitational, which Teams Van Gogh and Picasso will be attending together.
Thank you for your continued support of our organization.