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YSU sending four teams to compete in national moot court tournament
Top pre-law students to compete at moot court tourney in Gulfport, Fla.
By justin Wier
YOUNGSTOWN
Though the football team has everyone’s attention, Youngstown State University also is sending four teams to the American Moot Court Association’s national championship tournament in Gulfport, Fla., Friday and next Saturday.
Moot court is a debate competition in which teams argue hypothetical Supreme Court cases before a panel of judges.
Competitors are presented with a case problem and address various constitutional issues concerning the case. Teams of two students each qualify during regional competitions, and 80 teams advance to the national tournament.
After placing first in the Great Lakes Regional, the team of Jacob Schriner-Briggs and Andrik Massaro is expected to be ranked No. 1 at nationals.
Last year, the pair came into the national tournament ranked 61st and finished in the top eight. Schriner-Briggs was named the third-best orator overall and Massaro the 15th.
This is Schriner-Briggs’ fourth trip to nationals, and he said YSU is capable of contending with the country’s top college and university teams.
“If we’re willing to put in the work and practice hard, we have a puncher’s chance at the national championship,” he said.
Paul Sracic, chairman of the department of politics and international relations at YSU, coaches the team. He said Massaro and Schriner-Briggs are among the top pre-law students in the country.
“They both came into the program with a lot of talent,” Sracic said. “They’re just incredibly skilled orators.”
Michael Marshall and Jillian Smith also will be appearing as a team for the second time at the national competition. Last year they finished the tournament ranked 57th.
Smith said YSU has a deep bench of talent this year, and she expects they will do well. She said she was surprised her team qualified for the national tournament last year, and she feels more prepared going into the tournament this year.
“We have all put in significant preparation,” she said. “Moot court is highly cooperative and collaborative, so having all of these bright minds exchange and challenge ideas together has created an impressive force heading into the tournament.”
Two other teams will be appearing for the first time: Brian Duricy and Erik Glasgow, and Samantha Fritz and Jacob Tomory. The latter team placed third during their first appearance in the regional, finishing two places behind Massaro and Schriner-Briggs.
In a list of top programs for moot court put out by the AMCA, YSU placed 11th.
Sracic credited the program’s success in part to the local legal community, which has opened up its courtrooms and allowed the teams to practice their arguments before actual judges.
He also acknowledged Ron Slipski, a local attorney who previously coached the team and continues to volunteer his time.
While many people don’t think of YSU as a top pre-law school, Sracic argues that they should. He directs the Rigelhaupt Pre-law Center, which he said takes preparing students for law school seriously. Previous graduates have been admitted to “virtually every top law school in the country,” he said.
He said the continued success in moot court is evidence of the pre-law program’s strength.
And as for the national competition?
“I think we’re going to do very well this year,” Sracic said.