On Feb. 11 and 12, the Iona Mock Trial team travelled to Yale University to participate in the Regional tournament. Walking into the tournament Saturday, Iona was an underdog. When the team left on Sunday, though, they came out with a spot in the opening round of the National tournament.

At the beginning of this year, the team was down three members due to senior team members graduating.

 Since they were adding on new members, the team saw this year as a rebuilding year. Due to this, they experienced some growing pains over the course of the season. “The team has had its ups and downs this year,” captain Zach Benoit said. At their first tournament at Columbia University, they won two rounds and lost six. When they competed at Fordham University, though, they finished with six wins, one tie, and one loss, allowing them to place second. “The tournament at Fordham was a morale boost for the team,” sophomore MaryAnn Gallucci said.

Coming into the Regional tournament, there was no predicting what teams Iona would face. Unfortunately, they received a bad draw with their final match set to be against Yale. Their first round was against Bates University, and Iona’s prosecution team competed. While the prosecution won two ballots in this round, the defense lost two in the next round against Boston College. The next day they opened against Trinity College. Last year Trinity College finished in the top ten of Nationals, proving a hard match. Iona’s prosecution was able to win one ballot and tie the other.

For the fourth and final round, Iona’s defense team needed to win both ballots in order to progress to Nationals. “The Yale team we faced had already taken ballots from Princeton and Columbia,” Benoit said. Not only were they facing a strong Yale team, but they were also facing a team that had home court advantage. Coach Adam Detsky said, “Going into the final round, the only way we could qualify for Nationals was by beating Yale at Yale. We crushed them.” Iona’s defense team was able to take both ballots in their final round against Yale.

“We exceeded everyone’s expectations, even our own,” Gallucci said. The win was not only empowering to the team, but it also means that Iona College will be part of the Mock Trial Nationals. Not only will they get to participate in Nationals, but they are also hosting the opening round of the National Championship at Pace University’s Law School in White Plains. At this opening round, Iona will be facing teams from top schools like Columbia University, Princeton University and Brown University.

Unlike their previous tournament, though, Iona will not be walking in as the underdog. Throughout the year the students have put in a great deal of work and made many sacrifices for the team. “It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that will stay with you forever,” said Detsky.