This past weekend, the Mock Trial team went undefeated at the Pittsburgh Regional Tournament with an 8-0 record. Organized through the AMTA (American Mock Trial Association), this tournament consists of three rounds: Regionals, Opening Round of Nationals (ORCS), and Nationals. Amy Fly ’15, co-president of the team, stated, “The next step is ORCS in Louisville, Kentucky on March 13-15.”

According to Fly, “It was a two-day tournament, so we had two trials on Saturday and two trials on Sunday. The first day our red team was undefeated after competing against University of Pittsburgh and Mercyhurst University. Because our record was so high, the next day we got power matched against a really good team: Miami University of Ohio who won the National championship in 2001.”

During the two days, Dickinson’s two teams competed against “25 teams […] from 20 different schools,” according to Associate Professor of Political Science Douglas Edlin. “This win is significant because we were the only undefeated team at the Pittsburgh Regional, we were the only liberal arts college to receive an automatic bid from the Regional, and the bid means that we go to the opening round of the national championship tournament next month.”

To prepare for the trials on Sunday, teammates gathered together to show each other support: “the night before in the hotel room, the team got together and gave each other pep-talks and advice about how we could improve. We went into the third round knowing it was going to an epic battle, and it was,” said Fly. The hard work and stress was worth the wait. As Fly said, “You could tell it was a huge accomplishment just by the fact that Professor Edlin ate lunch that day. He never eats at tournaments because he is always so nervous for us.”

Taking part in this tournament was a long time coming. Fly noted, “This year, Dickinson started out with 4 teams and competed at the U Penn, Temple University and Patrick Henry invitationals.” On top of those preparatory competitions, “We practiced two times a week,” said Fly. The preparation paid off: according to Fly, “Miami was very good, just as we expected, but we definitely rose to the occasion. All our objections and arguments were on point to match theirs. It was a great round to be a part of.”

The team’s success did not end there, however. Fly mentioned, “At the end of the round, Professor Edlin called us all into the hallway and told us that our record was 6-0, which means we were guaranteed a bid to ORCS. Dickinson has never gone into the final round of a regional knowing we were definitely going to ORCS.” On top of this success as “the only team with an 8-0 record, […] we also had four people win individual awards,” said Fly.

Remarking on the team’s success, Fly stated, “We worked so hard all year to be where we are right now. […] To go undefeated (8-0) at a regional tournament, it’s something that Dickinson has never done before. We’re creating that reputation for Dickinson that other teams are quickly starting to become aware of. It’s also amazing to have accomplished this with many of the same people who I’ve been competing with since freshman year.”

According to Edlin, “Dickinson’s mock trial program is unusual because we have people who have done mock trial for years in high school and people who have never done mock trial or any public speaking before.” Fly added to this, saying, “Dickinson Mock trial is very unique from other Mock Trial programs in the sense that we aren’t just about doing well in competitions. We are a program about teaching. We also just have so much fun together.”