Rutgers Wins Third Place at State College Regional

The Rutgers University Mock Trial Association (“RUMTA”) competed at the Regional Tournament hosted by Penn State University on January 31st to February 2nd. Rutgers University’s A-Team and C-Team faced a competitive field that included teams from the University of Pennsylvania, Georgetown University, and Penn State University. The competition consisted of four trials, each scored by two judges. The Rutgers A-Team won 7 of the 8 judges’ scorecards to claim third place with a record of 7-1.

The C-Team became the first Rutgers C to compete at the regional level. They finished their season strong and were five points away from an honorable mention at the competition.

Rutgers has a history of success at tournaments held at Penn State University. At last year’s Regional Tournament, the A-Team finished with a record of 7 wins and 1 tie to claim first place. At the beginning of this season, the A-Team also took first place at Penn State’s Happy Valley Invitational, followed closely behind by Rutgers’ B-Team, which won fifth.

At the State College Regional, President Gregory Cui won All-Region Attorney Honors, his fourth Top Attorney Award this season and the tenth personal award of his collegiate mock trial career. In the final round to clinch a spot in the top 7, the Rutgers prosecution team – composed of Esther Kang, Thomas Twitchell, and Thomas Gill – claimed three of the top four attorney rankings on their way to securing a 28-point win. After the round, closing attorney Esther Kang commented, “I’m proud of the way our team responded to the challenges we faced this weekend. We’ve earned the opportunity to work harder, get better, and go further, and that’s exactly what we will do.”

Rutgers’ A-Team will next compete at the American Mock Trial Association’s Open Round Championships, hosted by the University of Virginia in March. If the team can place in the top six, they will earn a spot in the National Championship Tournament to compete for the National Title. The B-Team will be competing on February 7^th-9^th
at their Regional Tournament at Bristol, Rhode Island. If they place in the top seven teams as the A-Team did, they will also advance to the Open Round Championships.

The team is coached by Middlesex County Bar members Craig Aronow of Rebenack Aronow& Mascolo in New Brunswick, Michael Roberts of Roberts & Teeter in New Brunswick, and Kimberly Yonta of Yonta Law in New Brunswick.

RUMTA receives a significant portion of its funding from local attorneys, law firms, and the Middlesex County Bar Foundation. RUMTA is also sponsored by the Rutgers Alumni Association, which has continued to support the team since 2012.