The 3rd-ranked Rutgers University Debate Union (RUDU) took 9th place at the National Championships to close the most successful year in Rutgers debate history.
Ashley Novak & Chris Bergman, in Bergman’s last tournament, posted a 5-1 record in preliminary rounds en route to advancing to the elimination rounds as the sixth seed in the tournament. They dropped on a 2-1 decision in octofinals to the eventual finalists from Syracuse University.
Here are the full accomplishments from Nationals this year for RUDU:
Ashley Novak & Chris Bergman – 9th Team
Quinn Maingi & Alex Jubb – 23rd Team
Ashley Novak – 11th Speaker
Chris Bergman – 24th Speaker
Sean Leonard – 5th Novice Speaker
Leonard received a plaque for his novice speaker finish, capping a year where he finished 4th Novice of the Year (NOTY). Novak just missed a plaque on adjusted speaker points, a high-level tie-breaker. She was tied with both the 10th and 12th speakers before tie-breakers.
The awards for Novak and Bergman as a team, Novak as a speaker, and Leonard as a novice speaker were all Rutgers records for the APDA National Championships. Below, at the bottom of this post, is a list of school records set by RUDU on APDA this year.
Chris Bergman and Bhargavi Sriram also delivered Senior Speeches at the Nationals Banquet on Saturday night shortly before the Rutgers break was announced. Both thanked those who had helped them along the way to their success and friendships in the debate league. Bergman specifically also focused on the importance of taking issues of equity for female and minority debaters seriously.
TEAM RECORDS SET BY RUTGERS IN 2012-2013
| Standing/Ranking | 2012-2013 Record Set | Previous Record |
| College of the Year (COTY) | 3rd | 5th (2010-2011) |
| Debaters Qualified for Nationals | 7 – Ashley Novak, Adam Bomeisl, Russell Potter, Chris Bergman, Quinn Maingi, Alex Jubb, Sean Leonard | 5 (2010-2011) – David Reiss, Kyle Bomeisl, Chris Bergman, Ashley Novak, Farhan Ali |
| Nationals Team Standings | 9th – Ashley Novak & Chris Bergman | 15th (2010-2011) – Kyle Bomeisl & David Reiss |
| Nationals Speaker Standings | 11th – Ashley Novak | 16th (2010-2011) – Kyle Bomeisl |
| Nationals Novice Speaker Standings | 5th- Sean Leonard | 10th (2011-2012) – Quinn Maingi |
| North Americans Speaker Standings | 4th – Ashley Novak | Unknown |
| Varsity Breaks, Season | 41 | 27 (2010-2011) |
| Semifinals Appearances, Season | 11 | 10 (2010-2011) |
| Quarterfinals Appearances, Season | 28 | 24 (2010-2011) |
| Consecutive Varsity Break Weekends | 14 (current) | Unknown |
| Entrants on Speaker of the Year (SOTY) Rankings | 10 – Ashley Novak, Sean Leonard, Chris Bergman, Quinn Maingi, Russell Potter, Alex Jubb, Henry Phipps, Kurt Falk, Adam Bomeisl | 5 (2010-2011) – David Reiss, Kyle Bomeisl, Farhan Ali, Ashley Novak, Krishna Kavi |
| Top Speaker Awards, Season | 2 – Sean Leonard, Quinn Maingi | 1 (Multiple Years) – Farhan Ali (2010-2011), Chris Bergman (2011-2012) |
| Top Ten Speaker Awards, Season | 33 | 24 (2010-2011) |
