Iona College Mock Trial Team Garners Most Successful Semester in Its 10-Year History

New Rochelle, NY (December 4, 2012) The Iona College Mock Trial Team traveled to Yale University this past weekend to attend its second invitational tournament of the 2012-2013 competition season.   Despite being ranked 90th in the country out of 600+ teams, Iona entered this elite field as the third lowest-ranked team in the 20-team division. The field included four teams ranked in the top 10 and 15 teams in the top 50.

(From Left to Right)
Back Row: Joseph Nwokeabia, Zach Benoit, Ron Distante, Josh Myree, Michael Gelfand (coach) Front Row: Anastasia Nitis, Mary Ann Gallucci, Kimberleigh Costanzo, Marie Kalb

The team finished in sixth place with a record of 7-5.  In earning the sixth place finish, the team faced four teams that held a higher national ranking.  Each round had three practicing attorneys as scoring judges. The team went 2-1 and defeated the top teams from Cornell College (ranked #44 in the country), Penn State University and Wellesley (#33).  The team then went 1-2 against the University of Georgia (#35).   Two of those four teams competed last year for the mock trial national championship.  The Cornell College team finished in second place with a record of 10-2, with their only losses courtesy of Iona’s team. “Our mock trial team is off to another exciting start and is actively representing the best of Iona College,” said Brian Nickerson, Ph.D., provost and senior vice president for academic affairs.

In addition to the sixth-place finish, both Mary Ann Gallucci and Kimberleigh Costanzo were honored as top attorneys at the tournament – an award only given to seven participants.  “The Iona College Mock Trial team once again has bested top teams in the nation. With the dedicated coaching of Adam Detsky, the team has demonstrated what hard work and passion can do. We are very proud of their performance and are particularly proud of the two "Outstanding Attorney" award recipients, Mary Ann Gallucci and Anasatasia Nitsis,” stated Tricia Mulligan, Ph.D., department chair of political science. 

“The team wound up their most successful semester in its 10-year history,” said Coach Adam Detsky.  “In October, the team finished in third place at a 22-team tournament hosted at Columbia University’s School of Law.  That tournament also saw the team facing four teams with higher national rankings including Southern Methodist University (#78), the University of Maryland (#66), Yale (#80) and St. John's University (#68).”  

The team for this tournament was: Zachary Benoit, ’13, Kimberleigh Costanzo, ’14, Ronald Distante, ’15, Mary Ann Gallucci, ’14, (Co-Captain), Marie Kalb, ’16, Joshua Myree, ’15, Anastasia Nitis, ’14, (Co-Captain) and Joseph Nwokeabia, ’16. The team's attorney coaches are Adam Detsky, and Michael Gelfand.   Assistants include Iona alumni Amanda DeRosa, ’09, Sheena Wagaman, ’12 and current law school students Nadia Niazi, ’10 and Isaac Gilwit, ’09.   The next tournament is on January 19 and 20 at Fordham University.

Founded in 1940, Iona College is a four-year private, coeducational institution of learning in the tradition of the Edmund Rice Christian Brothers and American Catholic higher education. It is a diverse community of learners and scholars dedicated to academic excellence and the values of justice, peace and service. Iona offers undergraduate degrees in liberal arts, science, and business administration, as well as Master of Arts, Master of Science and Master of Business Administration degrees and numerous advanced certificate programs.

For questions or more information please contact:
Dawn Insanalli
Public Relations Office
Iona College, 715 North Avenue, New Rochelle, N.Y. 10801
Office: (914) 637-2726
Fax: (914) 637-2711
dinsanalli@iona.edu