Contact: Anne Keyser, External & Alumni Relations Coordinator, College of Communication, (740) 593-0030 or keysera@ohio.edu
ATHENS, Ohio (March 2, 2001) -- For the second year in a row, the Ohio University Forensics team prevails across the state, winning the Ohio state championship.
The overall score was combined from sweepstake points earned during the Novice Championship Tournament at Miami University Feb. 2-3 and the Varsity Championship Tournament at the Ohio State University Feb. 16-17.
According to Erin Gallagher of Brecksville, Ohio, a third-year student and first-place winner in the varsity after dinner speaking category, the recent successes of the Ohio University team are due to leadership and extensive teamwork and support. With the goal to constantly refine each other's events, the students meet several hours each week for peer coaching sessions.
"Although everyone on forensics competes individually, teamwork is a huge element," said Gallagher. "We sometimes joke around and claim we know our teammates' events as well as our own, but it is important that your teammates believe in you and that you have their support to have the confidence to perform well."
Other Ohio University students who won state champions at the varsity tournament included Nathaniel Grow of Athens, Ohio, for extemporaneous speaking; Elizabeth Kittle of Gahanna, Ohio, for program oral interpretation; and Erika Mason of Girard, Ohio, for persuasive speaking. In addition, Mason will represent the state of Ohio at the International Oratorical Association Conference and Tournament.
The state champions at the novice tournament held in early February included Brendan Meyer of Albany, Ohio, for communication analysis and Rob Barnhart of Maumee, Ohio, for both extemporaneous speaking and informative speaking.
The tradition of competitive speech and debate at Ohio University is more than 100 years old. Past participants of the program include Nancy Cartwright (voice of Bart Simpson), Arsenio Hall and CNN Anchor Leon Harris.
The Ohio University forensics team is directed by Jerry Miller, assistant professor in the School of Interpersonal Communication. The school is known for its pervasive scholarly presence at the National Communication Association, for its first-rate undergraduate and graduate teaching and for its commitment to providing students with abundant experiences outside of the classroom. The school's award-winning research papers and national reputation for teaching and research have brought the school recognition as one of the top doctoral programs for studying international/intercultural communication, organizational communication and instructional communication.
