Campus News

UK Forensics Has Strong Start to Fall Semester

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 6, 2014) — The University of Kentucky forensics team has had a strong start to the 2014 fall semester. After attending the first three tournaments of the year, the team has already won nearly 20 individual and team awards and has earned four qualifications to the National Forensics Association national tournament in April of 2015.

Director of Forensics Timothy Bill explains “Every year the team is getting better and performing at a higher level. This year is no different. We’ve already surpassed where we were at this time last season.”

In September, the team started its season on a high note with Western Kentucky University’s Fall Fiesta swing tournament. This year, 14 schools from as far away as Minnesota and North Carolina met in Bowling Green for this event. The Fall Fiesta tournament frequently features some of the toughest competition in the nation. The majority of teams present are ranked in the top 15 teams nationally and many of the students in final rounds will also be in the elimination rounds at nationals later in the year. In spite of this tough competition, a member of UK Forensics broke through for the first time in the team’s history at this event. Junior Abel Rodriguez placed third in impromptu speaking and was awarded third place speaker in parliamentary debate.

Over the second weekend of October, UK Forensics hosted its second annual collegiate speech and debate tournament which offers competition in 13 different public speaking events and three forms of debate. Teams from 10 states representing 20 different universities and colleges attended this year’s event.

With more than 260 entries in 17 different speaking and debate categories, the tournament has continued to grow and mature as an intercollegiate event. In addition to the honor of hosting 20 other colleges and universities on the UK campus, UK Forensics was also featured on the Oct. 11 edition of "UK at the Half," a radio segment that airs during the halftimes of home football and basketball games. The segment was broadcast over the entire state of Kentucky via the UK Sports Network and nationally via SiriusXM radio.

While the returning members of the UK Forensics team were assisting in hosting the tournament, the four new novice competitors had their first experience with a collegiate

competition. Kaylon Kennedy placed fifth in program oral interpretation and Léna Touchard was awarded top novice recognitions in persuasive speaking.

Most recently, UK Forensics traveled to Marshall University Oct. 25 and 26 to compete in the annual Chief Justice Invitational Tournament. This event frequently hosts some of the best teams in the nation and this year was no different. Western Kentucky University, Eastern Michigan University, George Mason University, and Ball State University, all top 10 teams at nationals, participated in this year’s tournament in addition to 18 other squads from across the region.

In this fierce environment, UK achieved a strong fifth place finish in combined team sweepstakes. The following individual achievements propelled UK to this team award:
 

Improvisational Duo

Kaylon Kennedy and Megan Wagner – Second Place, Top Novices

Abel Rodriguez III and Dianté Elcock – Fifth Place

Novice Impromptu Speaking

Megan Wagner – Third Place

Rachel Brase – Fourth Place

Persuasive Speaking

Léna Touchard – Top Novice

Poetry Interpretation

Abel Rodriguez III – Sixth Place

Program Oral Interpretation

Kaylon Kennedy – Fifth Place, Top Novice

Dianté Elcock – Sixth Place

Public Debate

Abel Rodriguez III – Tournament Champion

Logan Hurley – Semifinalist

Abel Rodriguez III – First Place Speaker (tie)

Logan Hurley – First Place Speaker (tie)

UK Forensics is a student organization within the College of Communication and Information. The team’s next tournament will be the Tennessee Porch Swing Tournament hosted by Belmont University and Carson-Newman University in Nashville, Tennessee, Nov. 14-16. To find out more about these results or the team generally, please contact Director of Forensics Timothy Bill at timothy.bill@uky.edu.

To listen to the UK at the Half interview with Timothy Bill, click on the arrow below. 

MEDIA CONTACT: Ann Blackford at ann.blackford@uky.edu