Mock Trial Team earns national ranking

Tuesday, May 4, 2004, By News Staff

Mock Trial Team earns national rankingMay 04, 2004Kelly Homan Rodoskikahoman@syr.edu

Top-10 effort in Florida competition leads to recognition for SU team

The 2003-04 Mock Trial Team, sponsored by The College of Arts and Sciences’ iLEARN Program at Syracuse University and open to undergraduates from around the University, placed in the top 10 in the American Mock Trial Association national tournament in St. Petersburg, Fla., in March.

The SU team, which is coached by SU College of Law graduates Jean-Marie Westlake G’01 and Kevin Kuehner G’99 is currently ranked 33rd in the nation by the American Mock Trial Association.

This year’s members of the national tournament team were Jessica Marsh, a sophomore in The College of Arts and Sciences (A&S); Ugochi Igbokwe, a freshman in A&S; Andrea Ferrand, a freshman in A&S; Paul D’Elia, a freshman in A&S; Joe Nosse, a junior in A&S; Jermaine Jones, a freshman in A&S; Priya DeSouza, a sophomore in A&S; and Timothy Middleton, a sophomore in A&S.

Members of the Mock Trial Team also competed as two teams in a regional competition at Princeton University in February. The first team included Ray Toenniessen, a sophomore in A&S; DeSouza; Middleton; Liz Young, a sophomore in A&S; Harris Sokoloff, a freshman in the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science; Sania Khan, a sophomore in A&S; and Rigaud Noel, a senior in A&S.

The second Princeton regional team, which placed seventh in the competition, included Marsh; Elizabeth McElroy, a senior in A&S; Igbokwe; Ferrand; D’Elia; Nosse and Jones. McElroy received an Outstanding Attorney Award and Igbokwe received an Outstanding Witness Award.

Marsh, a sophomore political science major who has been a member of the team for two years, says that the team has been an integral part of her college experience.

“The skills we learn in Mock Trial will not only help us to write a good paper or get an A on an exam, these skills will help us for the rest of our lives,” she says. “The majority of things we learn, such as public speaking skills, creative thinking, working as a group and being able to think on our feet, are skills that we use in every class here at Syracuse. These are lessons and skills that I will use every day for the rest of my life.”