News

Bellarmine Earns National Tournament Bid in Regional Competition

Bellarmine's two teams took to the courtroom this weekend in the Marilyn Butler Regional Tournament.  Both teams met tough competition and both ended up with top-10 finishes.  However, only one -- team 852 -- advanced to the National Tournament in Hamilton, Ohio.

Both Bellarmine teams got off to a great start, taking two ballots each from Murray State University and Miami (OH).  In the second round, team 852 swept another Miami (OH) team, while team 853 tangled with a very good Eastern Kentucky University team and fell just short, losing by 4 points and by 6 points out of a total of 140 available.

In the third round, team 852 met that same Eastern Kentucky University team, and the judges were split as to which team performed better.  Team 853 hit Ohio State, and also split ballots with them.

After three rounds, team 852 was in second place with a record of 5-1, while team 853 was in the hunt with a record of 3-3.  Team 852 hit rival Rhodes, who was 6-0 at the time, in the fourth round.  Continuing the trend, the judges could not agree as to which team was better, and one ballot was awarded to each team.  Team 853 had the same result in its round with Murray State University to finish the tournament with a record of 4-4.

Individual recognition went to team 852's Staci Windsor, who earned All Regional status as an attorney for the prosecution, and team 853's Connie Kremer, who earned All Regional witness status as an expert HIV specialist.

At 6-2, team 852 finished third overall, narrowly missing a bid to the National Championship tournament.  They will have a chance to earn that bid in the upcoming National Tournament on March 7-9.  For team 853, who finished ninth overall, the season has ended, but the future is very bright.

This season has been a great learning experience for a very young team.  There are no seniors on either of Bellarmine's Mock Trial teams, and eight of the 12 participants are new to mock trial.  The "more experienced" team (852), features four juniors and two freshmen.  Team 853 has four freshmen and two sophomores.  The coaches are very proud of both teams and look forward to a strong showing from team 852 at the National Tournament in March.