Published on March 1, 2021 by Sean Flynt  
Maddox Sawyer
The team of Sawyer Emerson and Maddox Gates is ranked #7 in the U.S.

Â鶹ÊÓƵ debaters qualified for the American Debate Association’s national tournament and the National Debate Tournament during competition in a regional championship hosted by Emory Â鶹ÊÓƵ Feb. 27-28.

The team of Sawyer Emerson and Maddox Gates–ranked #7 in the nation–qualified for the National Debate Tournament, defeating teams from Â鶹ÊÓƵ of Louisville, Â鶹ÊÓƵ of West Georgia, Â鶹ÊÓƵ of Kentucky and Â鶹ÊÓƵ of Georgia. Gates was named 5th speaker and Emerson was named 4th speaker. The team of Joey Tarnowski and Alyssa Gregory also competed in the Varsity division, defeating teams from Â鶹ÊÓƵ of Kentucky and Â鶹ÊÓƵ of Georgia.

The Samford team of Abi McKibben and Victor Roy–debating in their first tournament and with only three weeks of experience–won the rookie division of the championship, defeating Georgia State Â鶹ÊÓƵ. Roy was fourth speaker and McKibben was second speaker.

The Samford teams will next compete at the American Debate Association’s national tournament March 6-7.

 
Located in the Homewood suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford enrolls 6,324 students from 44 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford is widely recognized as having one of the most beautiful campuses in America, featuring rolling hills, meticulously maintained grounds and Georgian-Colonial architecture. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and boasts one of the highest scores in the nation for its 97% Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.