KU Debate wins University of Iowa tournament

LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas team of seniors Rose Larson, Milwaukee, and Luna Schultz, Houston, won the Baird Debate Tournament, a round-robin invitational for eight of the top teams in the country hosted by the University of Iowa. 

The KU pair were also the top two speakers at the tournament, which took place Oct. 11-12. Larson was the first-place speaker, and Schultz finished second.

The KU pair debated against teams from Baylor University, the University of Iowa, Liberty University, Michigan State University, New York University, the University of Southern California and the University of Texas at Dallas. In the round-robin format, each team debated against the other seven teams with two judges in each debate. Larson and Schultz won 13 of 14 ballots to finish first at the tournament. The University of Iowa finished second with 10 ballots, and NYU finished third with nine ballots.

Larson and Schultz notched 2-0 wins over Iowa, Liberty, Michigan State, NYU, USC and UT Dallas and had a split decision with Baylor. 

“Rose and Luna had an outstanding tournament, and they have established themselves as one of the best teams in the country,” said Scott Harris, the David B. Pittaway Director of Debate at KU. “Assistant Coach Ryan Cavanaugh also deserves a great deal of credit for helping them craft argument strategies for the tournament.”