Martin Romo of Romeoville helps Mock Trial team to AMTA honor

2014 Nov 24

Martin Romo and the rest of Lewis University's Mock Trial team opened their season with back to back tournaments held at Wheaton College and Bradley University.

At the Wheaton Thunderdome Invitational, Lewis University earned the Spirit of AMTA award, given to the team that best exemplifies the spirit of competition, professionalism and chivalry. It was is the first time in history of the Lewis University program that the Mock Trial team has won the Spirit of AMTA award in any tournament.

Lewis University took 15th and 19th place at the tournament, and several students earned individual honors. As the teams grow and develop, they were led by a number of individual leaders who took home performance-based awards at this tournament. Second year mocker Erica Swanberg won an Outstanding Witness Award leading team 1174 with Anthony Scorzo to a 19th place finish. Anthony Scorzo won Outstanding Attorney Awards for his performances on both sides of the case. Team 1173's David DeSchepper received the only perfect attorney award given at the tournament while working with his team for a 15th place finish at their first competition of the year.

"This tournament was especially challenging since we lost three players to illness just before the Wheaton tournament, forcing us to make internal changes in roles and personnel the week of competition," commented Head Coach Dr. James Houlihan.

The following week at Bradley, both Lewis teams came out strong in the first half of the tournament. After a full day of trial, Lewis University sat in first and seventh place. The second half of the tournament proved to be more difficult. One Lewis University team played the eventual first place and second place teams, and the other played the first place team and the eventual fourth place team. As a result, Lewis University took eighth and 10th in the tournament.

"Two top 10 finishes by one school--and the only school in this tournament - in an early season tournament is a very good sign," added Houlihan.

Along with these top 10 finishes, Lewis experienced a repeat in the category of individual awards. David DeSchepper repeated his success on the defense, taking home his second Perfect Attorney Award of the year while adding an additional Outstanding Attorney Award for his advocacy on the Plaintiff's side of the case. Erica Swanberg repeated her past week's performance, taking home another Outstanding Witness Award. Anthony Scorzo led team 1174 in Trial Advocacy, taking home an individual award for his efforts on the plaintiff's side of the case while missing a chance to repeat his previous week's performance by 1 point on the defense.

Members of the 1173 team are David DeSchepper (captain), Megan Arehart (captain), Mary Huggins, Ashley Patek, Korin Navarro, Vanessa Patenoude and Larry Beyer.

Members of the 1174 team are Anthony Scorzo (captain), Erica Swanberg (captain), Sandra Ayala, Kajal Sharma, Dustin Murray, Martin Romo and Amber Milliron.

Lewis University Mock Trial Coaches include Bill Rock of Block Klukas & Manzella, Paul Namie of Law Offices of Jason R. Moseley and Cary Hansing, a financial analyst for BP Oil.

Lewis University is a Catholic university in the Lasallian tradition offering distinctive undergraduate and graduate programs to more than 6,700 traditional and adult students. Lewis offers multiple campus locations, online degree programs, and a variety of formats that provide accessibility and convenience to a growing student population. Sponsored by the De La Salle Christian Brothers, Lewis prepares intellectually engaged, ethically grounded, globally connected, and socially responsible graduates. The seventh largest private not-for-profit university in Illinois, Lewis has been nationally recognized by The Princeton Review and U.S. News & World Report. Visit www.lewisu.edu for further information.