Members of the Speech and Debate team competed in a tournament at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia the weekend of Feb. 9 & 10.

In Public Forum debate, seniors Ethan Gilman and Rohit Gude advanced to runoff elimination rounds. Juniors Madeline Wenger and Zara Ali, as well as seniors Danielle Hazan and Katherine Sylvester, advanced to double-octafinals, earning silver bids to the Tournament of Champions in May. Sylvester was also named 4th speaker at the tournament.

For some debaters that did not break to elimination rounds, the tournament was still enjoyable.

“Personally I was a little disappointed in my performance,” junior Nate Olson said. “However, Penn was a fun tournament overall because I got to experience classic Philadelphia traditions of Wawa and cheesesteaks.”

Katherine Sylvester and Zara Ali are staff members on The Black & White.