A University of Wisconsin-Superior Mock Trial team placed fifth in February in the Upper Midwest Durst Memorial Tournament, earning a berth in the opening round of the national tournament next month in St. Paul.
UW-Superior's Black Team compiled a 5-3 record in the competition over the weekend.
UW-Superior dominated the tournament field until the final round, where it lost both ballots to Hamline University. UW-Superior handily won a four-way tie at 5-3 records to qualify for nationals.
Eric Albertson of Duluth was named the tournament's Outstanding Attorney, a perfect 20 on the plaintiff's side of the case. Tianyi Xie of Bethesda, Md., won an Outstanding Witness award, placing among the top 10 performers at the tournament.
Mock Trial is an academic forensic activity that teaches students how to analyze the law and facts of a case, and to argue and present cases in a trial court. Many of the participating students are majoring in UW-Superior's Legal Studies or Criminal Justice programs. UW-Superior belongs to the American Mock Trial Association and is one of more than 350 universities in the country that take part in mock trial competition.
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Mock Trial team members include Eric Albertson of Duluth; Jeff Anderson of Frederic, Wis.; Ludmila Ciubaciuc of Moldava; Kayannda Davis of Hudson, Wis., Brandt Devich of Buhl, Minn.; Jordin Gegare of De Pere, Wis.; Alicia Kline of Reedsburg, Wis.; Daniel Mason of Madison, Wis.; Jan O'Malley of Superior, Shannon Bowen, Katlyn Shipley of Duluth; Taylor Tengwall of Sandstone, Minn.; Mark Wick of Foxboro, Wis.; and Tianyi Xie of Bethesda, Md.
The team is coached and advised by Dr. Maria Stalzer Wyant Cuzzo, professor of Legal Studies at UW-Superior, and Tracy Schramm, a partner in Bateman and Schramm law firm in Duluth and an alumna of UW-Superior and its mock trial program.
The UW-Superior team next sees action March 25-27, when it competes with 24 of the best teams from the Midwest for one of six slots in the top-flight national tournament in Des Moines. UW-Superior finished 12th in the nation last year.
More than 75 legal professionals from around the region volunteered to serve as judges at the tournament. Twenty-four teams from around the Upper Midwest participated and more than 250 students spent the weekend in Superior.
