Georgia Debate Union takes second in season opener

  The Georgia Debate Union finished in second place at the season-opening college debate tournament held at Georgia State this past weekend.  

The Georgia State tournament typically takes place in mid-September and this year featured 140 teams from around the country, including teams from Harvard, Georgetown, Northwestern, Cornell, Vanderbilt, the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Michigan, among many others.

Seniors Advait Ramanan and Swapnil Agrawal lost a 2-1 decision to a team from Harvard University in the final round.  On their way to the finals, Advait and Swapnil defeated teams from the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Michigan, Dartmouth College, Emory University, and Wake Forest University.  

A second team representing the Georgia Debate Union - seniors Nathan Rice and Johnnie Stupek - finished tied for 5th place at the Georgia State tournament, with wins over Dartmouth College, the University of Michigan, the University of Texas, and the University of California at Berkeley. 

Said head debate coach Hays Watson on the team's overall performance, "Advait, Swapnil, Nathan, and Johnnie all share the same goal for the 2018-2019 season - to win a debate national championship for the University of Georgia.  This season's Georgia State tournament serves as proof that their competitive aspirations are more than achievable."

The Georgia Debate Union's next tournament will take place at the University of Kentucky. Thank you to head debate coach hays Watson for keeping sharing news of the team's successes.

Pictured: Advait (left) and Swapnil with their 2nd place trophy.