News Article

(SPOKANE, Wash.) — Gonzaga University’s top debate team of seniors Grace Saez, of Las Vegas, and Nick Bormann, Spokane, has received an invitation to the prestigious University of Kentucky Round Robin tournament Oct. 3-4 in Lexington.

“Only eight individual teams from across the nation are extended invitations to this tournament, so this is an honor, but one Nick and Grace have earned after three years of hard work,” said GU debate Coach Glen Frappier.

The tournament field also will include the top team from each of the following schools: University of California-Berkeley, Dartmouth College, Emory University, Harvard University, Northwestern University, University of Kansas and the University of Michigan.

“Needless to say we are in very good company,” Frappier said.

Gonzaga will kick off its fall schedule on Sept. 15 when the Bulldogs host the “The Jesuit” tournament and field their top teams of Bormann-Saez and sophomores Abe Corrigan and James Joseph. “The Jesuit attracts all the top talent on the West Coast, including California-Berkeley, University of Southern California, Whitman College, the University of Redlands, as well as a number of very good teams from the opposite coast and all points in between,” Frappier said.

Most GU debaters returned this week from the Arizona Debate Institute, where they researched and prepared for the coming season. The topic this year is that the United States should constructively engage with one or more of the following countries: Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Palestinian Authority, and Afghanistan. “It is a very interesting topic and in my opinion plays to our strengths as a team as we have a lot of international relations majors,” Frappier said. All four debaters in the final round at the Institute were Zags. The team of sophomores Corrigan and Joseph faced the GU team of freshmen Leah Moczuslki and Jim Sydnor in the final round; Corrigan and Joseph won on a 4-1 decision.

Typically, teams from the same school would not debate each other but these two teams worked in separate “labs” at this preseason institute tournament. For more information, contact Frappier at (509) 323-6663 or via e-mail at or visit the Gonzaga Debate Web site.