Earns bid to National Championship in first ever Regional win
February 12, 2006 - The University of Virginia Mock Trial program passed another milestone in its history this past weekend, adding a new item to its list of accomplishments: Regional Champions.
Team 972 won seven ballots (PD +64) to take first place at the Gettysburg Regional, held at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania. After facing off against squads from Rochester and Hamilton, UVa faced two outstanding teams from the University of Arizona, narrowly splitting with team 339 and taking both ballots from team 338 to win the tournament.
The first place finish qualifies UVa for a spot at the National Championship Tournament in Des Moines, Iowa in April. This will be the third straight year in which UVa has earned a bid to the National Championship Tournament.
Team 973 finished 4-4 after two tough days of competition, twice dropping ballots by only a single point. In a fantastic performance, first-year mocker Steven Kanjo won an Outstanding Witness award on the defense side of the case. It was his second Outstanding Witness award this season, after earning his first on the prosecution side of the case at the Columbia Big Apple Invitational in January.
After tying for first place in its division at the 2005 National Championship Tournament, UVa now begins its preparation to make another run on the Richard Calkins trophy.