Congratulations are in order for Iona’s Mock Trial Team. With a largely new team, the Iona Mock Trial Team had an excellent performance, coming in first place after four rounds of tournament competition.

The mock trial team goes to three invitational tournaments a year, which are held at Columbia University, Penn State University and Cornell University. Over 50 mock trial teams of nationwide colleges are invited to the extremely competitive tournaments.

The mock trial team competed in four tournament rounds against Fordham University, University of Minnesota, Penn State University and the University of Carolina. They won both ballots in all four rounds, and then won first place out of 50 teams.

“It was very exciting for us because we didn’t start being ranked until four years ago,” senior Amy Cassidy said.

Winning was an extremely pleasant surprise for the team, since half of the members are new this year and still learning the ropes.

“We were not expecting first place because we had six new people this year. Considering over 50 percent of the team was new, we were very surprised that we were able to win the first place,” Cassidy said.

Although it was a big adjustment for new and old members on the team, they still endeavored to give the best performance and devote the greatest effort.

“Winning the Quaker classic was great, and it is a good step because we had six new members on our 10 student team. This was only our second tournament, so beating out so many schools is a huge leap forward. We also know that we still have a lot of work to do for our up coming competition and eventually regionals in Febuary,” sophomore Zachary Benoit said.

For the mock trial team, the old adage that practice makes perfect is very true. The ongoing, intensive practice and hard work definitely built a bridge for the team to achieve success. At the same time, the coherence within the team also played an important role during their practices and eventually the tournament.

“We are very comfortable with each other, and people have fun doing it,” Cassidy said. Members of the team not only gain experience and a great record, but friendships as well. “I love it! I have been on the team for four years and I’ve made my best friends in the team,” Cassidy said.

Students of the team attribute much of their success to their coaches and are very thankful for them.

“The most rewarding part is that the coaches can see that we really understand what they are telling us. The mock trial program at Iona is very new and was founded by our head coach Adam Detsky. All of our assistant coaches are Iona alumni. This is the first tournament that we have won and that says a lot about the effort that the coaches put in,” Benoit said.

The coaching staff consists of Adam Detsky, the head coach and attorney in New York; Michael Gelfand, another New York attorney; and four Iona College alumni: Allyson Crespo, Ashley Reid, Amanda DeRosa and Nadia Niazi.

“The mock trial team is very close and we stick together. The best part is the inside jokes we make that are all related to the case. Because we get a new case every year, we are put in different roles each year, but no one ever forgets who you were last year,” Benoit said.

The coming tournament will be more challenging for the team. They will go to Cornell and compete with students from top Ivy League schools.

Congratulations and good luck to all of the members of the mock trial team: senior Brittni Uhl, senior and captain Kristin Badalamenti, senior Amy Cassidy, junior Giovanna Bove, sophomore Zachary Benoit, freshman Anastasia Nitis, freshman Mary Ann Gallucci, freshman Kimberleigh Costanzo, freshman Thomas Savidge, and freshman Joseph Paciullo.