RUMTA’s B-Team kicked off the competitive season with a stellar showing at William and Mary’s Colonial Classic Invitational, from October 22 to 23. The team competed successfully against teams from William and Mary, University of Richmond, George Washington University, and the University of South Carolina. B-Team co-captains Michael Brestin and Kaavya Balamurugan expressed their amazement and pride for their teammates’ performances.
Rutgers B Team, top row from left: Leo Affouf, Nohman Sohail, Cat Ellor, Yash Goyal, Felicia Chan, and Ayush Nimak
Bottom row, from left: B-Team Captains Kaavya Balamurugan and Michael Brestin
“I am so beyond proud of how well our team performed this competition. Everyone gave it their all and exceeded all expectations. I consider myself lucky to work with such a driven and high spirited team, and I think our results this weekend speak volumes about the season to come.” Michael remarked. Kaavya shared a similar sentiment, explaining, “Honestly, I was beyond amazed and impressed by everyone’s performances at William & Mary. Everyone put in so much time, energy, and effort into learning the material and getting ready for the competition and it really paid off. They completely exceeded my expectations and I am so proud of how well they all work together and how enthusiastic they are about Mock Trial.”
Leo Affouf, who played the self-proclaimed “Master of the Skies” D.B. Gelfand for the defense and Jaime Savchenko for the plaintiff
RUMTA especially commends freshman Leo Affouf, who competed at the collegiate level for the first time, for his 17-rank Outstanding Witness Award!
“Watching Leo win RUMTA’s first award of the season at his first-ever tournament was also incredible, and I'm so proud of him and the rest of the team for all of their dedication and talent. Getting to compete alongside all of them and witnessing firsthand how much they have improved in such a short amount of time has truly been so special to me, and I can’t wait to see how far they continue to go from here.” Kaavya said.
RUMTA cannot wait to see what this incredible team does next as they head off to compete at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annual Quaker Classic this weekend, alongside our talented C-Team competitors.