Doane College Forensics Team Earns 11th Place at National Tournament

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Doane Finishes Tournament as the Nation's Highest-Ranked Liberal Arts College  

The Doane Forensics Team placed 11^th and finished the highest-ranked liberal arts college nationwide at the American Forensics Association National Individual Events Tournament, April 3-6 at the University of Akron-Ohio.  Eighty colleges and universities from throughout the country attended the tournament, which does not include divisions based on school size.    This was the highest ranking ever for the Doane program, which is only nine years old. Doane was one of four Nebraska teams placing in the tournament's top 15 - more than any other state in the nation.   The AFA-NIET is the most elite national forensics tournament -- less than 10 percent of all students who compete in college speech ever qualify.  Doane qualified all of its team members in multiple events.

Doane senior Zach Blackman of Valparaiso, was selected for the tournament's All-American Team, which includes 12-16 students each year based on academics, forensics awards, and community service.  This is the fourth consecutive year a Doane student was selected for the All-American Team.

Three Doane team members advanced to the final rounds, which include the top six performers in each event:

Travis Williamson (senior, Crete) and Anne DeLuca (sophomore, Omaha), earned 5^th place in Duo Interpretation out of 108 entries.

Zach Blackman (senior, Valparaiso) earned 5^th place in Communication Analysis out of 111 entries. 

Doane had seven events advance to quarter-final rounds, which include the top 24 competitors in each event out of 100-160 entries:

• Amanda Bouc, sophomore, Valparaiso, Informative Speaking
• Travis Williamson, senior, Crete, and Anne DeLuca, sophomore, Omaha, Duo Interpretation
• Anne DeLuca, Program Oral Interpretation
• Travis Williamson, Drama Interpretation
• Travis Williamson, Poetry Interpretation
• Brent Friedeman, senior, Raymond, Poetry Interpretation
• Zach Blackman, Communication Analysis

Doane took 37 events to the national tournament.  All students who competed earned high rankings in their preliminary rounds, contributing to the team's overall score.  Additional team members in attendance were:

• Neil Hatfield, senior, Belvidere - Informative, Impromptu, Extemp
• Sarah Snyder, junior, Edison - Prose, Duo, CA, Persuasive
• Caitie Leibman, sophomore, Cedar Creek - POI, Duo
• Laura Jacob, first-year student, Forest Lake, Minn. - DI, ADS
• Lukas Petersen, first-year student, Minden - Extemp, Persuasive

2009 Team Sweepstakes Results

1^st place - Western Kentucky University

2^nd place - George Mason University

3^rd place - University of Texas-Austin

4^th place - Bradley University

5^th place - Illinois State University

6^th place - California State University-Long Beach

7^th place - University of Nebraska-Lincoln

8^th place - Arizona State University

9^th place - University of Alabama

10^th place - Ohio University

11^th place - Doane College

12^th place - James Madison University

13^th place - University of Nebraska-Omaha

14^th place - Northwestern University

15^th place - Hastings College

16^th place - Glendale Community College-California

17^th place - Kansas State University

18^th place - Gustavus Adolphus College

19^th place - St. Joseph's University

20^th place - University of Texas-El Paso

All results for the national tournament can be found at:

http://www.mnsu.edu/spcomm/niet/niet.html

Event descriptions can be found at:

http://www.mnsu.edu/spcomm/niet/eventdescriptions-new0607.htm

Doane Director of Forensics:  Dawn Bartlett

Assistant Coaching Staff:  Anne Golden ('04), Michael Mahanes, Cassy Blakely ('08)

Posted
by Nancy Weyers
on 4/8/2009 8:45:00 PM