Rice Speech and Debate Wins Sweepstakes National Championship and Places High in International Competition, bringing home 62 awards so far this semester!

In the last two weeks, Rice Speech and Debate has won the NPDA National Championship Sweepstakes and made an unprecedented showing at the International Forensics Association in Dublin, Ireland. These incredible achievements show the hard work and dedication of these undergraduate academic competitors. So far this semester, Rice has brought home 62 awards.

Sharpening their advocacy skills this semester, Rice’s competitors have appeared at regional, national, and international tournaments, competing and learning along with college and university students from all levels of higher education. This press release will first cover two recent significant tournaments and then the rest of the spring tournaments so far in chronological order.

National Parliamentary Debate Association National Championship Tournament, March 15-18, Hosted by University of Utah

Back: Kyle Sanderfer, William Wang, Max Renteria, Arjun Surya, Mikki Stancik, Jason Barton, David Worth. Front: Shannon LaBove, Kelly Yang, Anna Phan, Rohan Gupta, Manna Trevino, Rija Naqvi.

• Overall Tournament Sweepstakes: 1^st Place National Champions
• Open Varsity Division Season Sweepstakes: 1^st Place National Champions
• Overall Season Sweepstakes: 5th Place 

Senior Max Renteria and Sophomore Arjun Surya are runner-up national champions, taking 2nd place after an outstanding final-round debate against the University of California, Berkeley!

This was Renteria’s second appearance in the final round, placing him among a very small number of debaters who have reached finals twice in their careers. He won the national championship in 2022 with Jacob Tate. For Surya, this appearance is an incredible feat for a sophomore, foreshadowing additional success in the coming years!

• Kyle Sanderfer and William Wang: Quarterfinalists
• Anna Phan and Rohan Gupta: Octafinalists
• Nikki Stancik and Rija Naqvi: Octafinalists

Individual Speaker Awards:

• Max Renteria 6^th
• Arjun Surya 8^th
• William Wang 20^th

Rice won 31 separate debates.

Four out of five Rice teams reached elimination rounds, with the remaining team of Manna Trevino and Kelly Yang taking the “next out” position, coming closer than any other remaining team to making the cut.

Max Renteria was selected for the NPDA All-American Squad, recognizing his commitment to community service, academic excellence, and competitive success.

Shannon LaBove was awarded the Brent Northup Distinguished Service Award for more than two decades of service to the debate community. She is only the third recipient of this award.

This finish marks the team’s second Sweepstakes NPDA National Championship, its fifth straight year with a top-four finish, and its fourth appearance in a debate national final round in the last six years!

International Forensics Association, March 11-12, Dublin, Ireland

Kevin Barry, Maya Adhikari, Pranav Nagajothi

Three students represented Rice at this global event for the first time. This tournament featured competitors from many nations and had an unusually difficult standard for reaching elimination rounds. All three students represented Rice with distinction.

Junior Pranav Nagajothi finished 5^th Place in Varsity Extemporaneous Speaking and was a Double-Octafinalist in Varsity International Parliamentary Debate!

Below this point, the remaining tournaments so far this semester are listed in chronological order.

Mound High Swing Co-hosted by McKendree University and University of Texas at Tyler in Lebanon, IL, January 6-9.

Rice’s competitors returned early from Winter Break to represent Rice at this important two-tournament event. The tournament name references the Cahokia Mounds, the remains of the largest pre-Columbian city north of Mexico. The site is located very near the host campus.

First tournament

• Max Renteria and Arjun Surya: Semifinalists, Varsity Debate
• Nikki Stancik and Kyle Sanderfer: Quarterfinalists, Varsity Debate
• Manna Trevino and Kelly Yang: Octafinalists, Varsity Debate

Second tournament

• Max Renteria and Arjun Surya: Semifinalists, Varsity Debate
• Nikki Stancik and Kyle Sanderfer: Semifinalists, Varsity Debate
• Manna Trevino and Kelly Yang: Octafinalists, Varsity Debate

Individual Speaker Awards (calculated at this event by combining the two tournaments): 

• Kyle Sanderfer: 3^rd
• Nikki Stancik: 7^th
• Arjun Surya: 8^th

Rice won 24 separate debates at this event.

In addition, two teams were announced at Mound High as first-round bids to the National Parliamentary Tournament of Excellence, placing them in the top 8 teams in the nation as of January. These teams are Max Renteria/Arjun Surya and Nikki Stancik/Rija Naqvi. Unfortunately, the tournament is scheduled during Rice’s finals period so they will be unable to attend. The team looks forward to attending the NPTE next year.

Rice currently has two teams ranked in the top ten and five in the top twenty on the NPTE rankings. The rankings are based on win/loss records.

3x3 Winter Blast Virtual Tournament

Kevin Barry: 

• 2^nd Communication Analysis
• 5^th Persuasive Speaking

Maya Adhikari:

• 2^nd Extemporaneous Speaking

Charlotte Motor Speedway hosted by the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, January 27-28

Shay Olaifa, Chloe Pesqueira, Maya Adhikari, Daijah Wilson

• 4^th Place Overall Sweepstakes 

Shay Olaifa:

• 1^st Programmed Oral Interpretation
• 4^th After Dinner Speaking 
• 4^th Prose Interpretation 

Daijah Wilson:

• 1^st Poetry Interpretation 
• 4^th Programmed Oral Interpretation 

Maya Adhikari:

• 5^th Extemporaneous Speaking
• 3^rd Informative Speaking

Texas Intercollegiate Forensic Association, Hosted by Texas State University at San Marcos, February 2-4

Pranav Nagajothi: 

• 3^rd Impromptu Speaking

Kevin Barry: 

• 2^nd Informative Speaking
• 5^th Communication Analysis

San Diego State University, February 3-4

Rija Naqvi, Anna Phan, Manna Trevino, Rohan Gupta, Kyle Sanderfer, Arjun Surya, Nikki Stancik, David Worth

• Anna Phan and Rohan Gupta: Semifinalists, Varsity Debate
• Max Renteria and Arjun Surya: Quarterfinalists, Varsity Debate
• Nikki Stancik and Rija Naqvi: Quarterfinalists, Varsity Debate

Individual Speaker Awards:

• Max Renteria: 2^nd
• Nikki Stancik: 4^th
• Anna Phan: 7^th
• Rohan Gupta: 8^th
• Kyle Sanderfer: 9^th

Rice won 10 separate debates at this event.

Speech on the Beach Swing, Hosted by Del Mar College and Lone Star College North Harris, Corpus Christi, TX, February 9-11

Daijah Wilson

First tournament

• Daijah Wilson:
  • 1^st Programmed Oral Interpretation
• Maya Adhikari:
  • 6^th Extemporaneous Speaking
• Chloe Pesqueira: 
  • 6^th Impromptu Speaking

Second Tournament

• 4^th Place Overall Sweepstakes
• Daijah Wilson:
  • 2^nd Programmed Oral Interpretation
• Maya Adhikari:
  • 3^rd Extemporaneous Speaking
• Chloe Pesqueira: 
  • 6^th Impromptu Speaking
  • 3^rd Informative Speaking

Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, February 17

Chloe Pesqueira

• 5^th Informative Speaking

AFA-NST District III Qualifier Tournament, Tyler JC, Tyler, TX, March 2 

Kevin Barry: 

• 1^st After Dinner Speaking 
• 1^st Communication Analysis

Maya Adhikari:

• 1^st Persuasive Speaking
• 3^rd After Dinner Speaking 

Pranav Nagajothi:

• 1^st Impromptu Speaking

Chloe Pesqueira: 

• 1^st Informative Speaking
• 2^nd Impromptu Speaking 
• 2^nd Persuasive Speaking

Shay Olaifa:

• 3^rd Programmed Oral Interpretation 

Please join us in congratulating these academic competitors! The team will next compete at the American Forensic Association National Speech Tournament, hosted by the University of Wisconsin—Eau Claire. 

Rice Speech and Debate is coached by David Worth and Shannon LaBove. For more information, please visit humanities.rice.edu/speech-and-debate.