At the Orange County Mock Trial Semifinals on Tuesday, December 10, University High School’s Mock Trial Team Blue lost to El Dorado by four points. Both Team White and Team Blue had advanced to the playoffs, and Team Blue continued on to the Semifinals after winning six consecutive rounds of competition. This is the farthest a mock trial team from University High has ever advanced.
In Mock Trial competitions, competing teams are assigned a case, with one team acting as prosecution and the other as defense. Winning teams are chosen by professional attorneys around Orange County and a professional judge who works at the court in Santa Ana. Thirty-eight schools competed at the Orange County Mock Trial competition. Only four teams, Northwood White, El Dorado, Saddleback Academy Christian Scarlet and University Blue, advanced to the semifinal round of competition.
“Despite losing in a close semifinal round, I feel extremely proud to be part of this team,” said Al Chang (Jr.), one of UHS Mock Trial’s co-presidents. “We left nothing behind and gave our best effort, losing only by four points to a team that is traditionally the best team in the county. Obviously, I feel a little bit disappointed that all the excitement has to end, but I know the best is yet to come. While it’s disappointing now, this loss will motivate our team when we compete again next year.”
Team Blue: Haruka Hatori (Sr.), Jessica Shin (Sr.), Tristan Malhotra (So.), Matt Jeong (Sr.), Al Chang (Jr.), Sheila Sharifi (Jr.), Libby Sun (So.), Shannon Choi (Jr.), Stephanie Shi (Sr.), Eumin Lee (So.), Koan Zhang (Jr.), Charlie Xu (Jr.), Nitya Bhardwaj (Jr.), Sparsh Sah (Jr.), Jason Park (Sr.), Fez Motiwala (Sr.)
Team White: Daniel Tran (Jr.), Yauss Agahi (Jr.), Jaimee Hocker (Fr.), Sahil Lamba (Sr.), Kruthi Renduchintala (Jr.), Shelby T, Kaveh Agahi (Jr.), Bessie Liu (So.), Keira Monuki (Jr.), Shivani Lamba (Fr.), Alex Chung (Fr.), Neeka Baroni (Jr.), Bruce Miranda (Jr.), Leandro Lebumfacil (Jr.), Aurnov Chattopadhyay (Fr.), Toloue Kabiri (Sr.), and Kristina Shia (Jr.)
If you see any of these people around campus, be sure to congratulate them on a job well done. Additionally, if you have any questions about Mock Trial or are interested in joining the team next year, please contact Mock Trial Presidents Haruka Hatori (Sr.) or Al Chang (Jr.) at [email protected].
Written by BIYONKA LIANG
Staff Writer