Posted by Mary Wimberley on 2007-11-08

Samford University varsity debaters Erin Ramsey and Logan Gramzinski defeated several nationally ranked top 16 teams, including reigning national champion Emory University, to advance to the Elite 8 at a recent Liberty University tournament.

The success, plus an outstanding showing at an earlier regional tournament in late October, has landed the Samford squad in a tie with Vanderbilt University for the number one ranking in the southeast region.

Ramsey and Gramzinski won five of 6 preliminary rounds to be named second seed at the Liberty tournament, held Nov. 3-4 in Lynchburg, Va.

Gramzinski was named the fourth best speaker and Ramsey the sixth best speaker at the competition.

"Erin and Logan's extraordinary success demonstrates that Samford Debate is a force to be reckoned with nationally, in our home region, and in other regions," said Samford debate coach Abi Williams.

Samford novice debater Morgan Bolan, in her first collegiate debate tournament, won three preliminary rounds on a hybrid team with a novice debater from Liberty.

 
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 is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 5,791 students from 49 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 fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.