New Rochelle, NY (February 15, 2012) For the fourth-consecutive year, the Iona College Mock Trial (ICMT) team has successfully qualified for a bid to the national championship. This past weekend, ICMT competed in the regional-qualifying tournament at Yale University and became one of the top eight teams in the 30 team regional field to receive bids to the opening rounds of the national championship to be held in Minnesota. Competition included teams from Columbia University, Brown University, Princeton University and Yale University, to name a few.

Highlights of the event include a first-round win by the ICMT prosecution team over Bates College (Record: 2-0). In third-round pairings, Iona’s prosecution team faced Trinity College. Trinity College finished in the top 10 of their division at the national championship last year, making them one of the top teams in the field. In an incredibly close round, ICMT overcame majestic odds and won one ballot by two points (out of a possible 140 points) and tied the other (record after round 3: 3-2-1). In fourth-round pairings, Iona’s defense team defeated Yale by 12 and 17 points respectively, thus garnering Iona to qualify for nationals.

“Despite being in a developmental year, the Iona College Mock Trial Team continues to outperform other teams with long-standing and prestigious histories. This is a testament to the can-do character of our students and an excellent reflection of our motto certa bonum certamen ‘fight the good fight’,” said Dr. Brian Nickerson, Interim Provost.

In addition to ICMT’s third consecutive top-10 finish, Anastasia Nitis ’14 (member of the Honors Program) was honored as the top advocate at the tournament. She finished with a perfect 20 individual ranking points as a prosecution attorney. Amy Wert ’15, (member of the Honors Program) received her first individual honor as the top-ranked witness at the competition. Amy was the fourth member of the team to win individual honors this year, joining Anastasia, Kimberleigh Costanzo ’14 and Joseph Paciullo ’14. ICMT also set a new record for having the most students to ever receive individual honors in a year for the program.

“This has been a long, difficult year as we sought to rebuild the program after losing all of our top students from the previous two years. With only one senior and one junior, the rest of the team is comprised of sophomores and freshmen. We took 10 students and have helped them grow into fine young adults who will lead Iona for the next few years as we look to build on all of the successes of the past three years,” said Mock Trial Coach Adam Detsky, Esq.

Detsky continued, “We are very pleased with these results. This team has surpassed every goal we set for them at the start of the year – and those goals were very high. The students have achieved our goals given our rebuilding status.”

The current mock trial team is comprised of the following members: Sheena Wagaman ’12, team captain, Zach Benoit ’13, Anastasia Nitis ’14, Mary Ann Gallucci ’14, Thomas Savidge ’14, Joseph Paciullo ’14, Amy Wert ’15, Joshua Myree ’15, and Ronald Distante ’15. Kimberly Costanzo ’14 is also a member of the team, but she is studying abroad and was unable to compete.

Assisting Detsky with his coaching duties is Michael Gelfand, Esq., a Long-Island based attorney, and the volunteer efforts of Iona alumni: Amanda DeRosa, Nadia Niazi, Amy Cassidy and Ashley Reid. In addition to being a team member, senior Sheena Wagaman ’12 also serves as a valued assistant coach.

The next scheduled tournament is the 24-team opening rounds of the national tournament to be held at Pace Law School in White Plains, NY on March 10 and 11. This will be an elimination tournament where the top six teams will qualify for the national championship tournament later this year at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota.