For the second year in a row, the LitiGators placed in the top ten at the National Championships! From April 8-10, the LitiGators competed at the American Mock Trial Association’s 2022 National Championship Tournament, and we took home seventh place. The team was a close margin away from making it to the final round—the closest our program has ever come to the championship!
After months of work, Team Redwood left Gainesville on April 6th, traveled to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and held four scrimmages with top teams before the competition. Coaches Dr. Laura Sjoberg, Dr. Joel Black, Richard German, and Harrison DeVoe came to help the team throughout the weekend, serving as their biggest supporters.
Mia Venezia, captain of Team Redwood, won an All-American Attorney Award at the competition. Venezia stated, “it’s a surreal experience to be awarded an All-American. I’m very grateful, but at the same time, it’s important to keep in mind the real victory is that UF was just six points away from the final round.” Sahas Chintakayala, second-time winner of an All-American Witness Award, added “I can’t emphasize enough how important each member of our team was – whether it was just giving support or helping out logistically. UF is such a special program in that regard, and I feel truly fortunate to be a part of that.”
It was nearly the entire team’s first time at an in-person National Championship, so Chintakayala expressed that it was “intimidating at first, especially with seeing all these other big schools who have lofty reputations, but once we got into our rhythm, I think we really buckled down.” He stated that a large part of the weekend was adapting to challenges, both inside and outside of the courtroom. “The key was staying confident and being able to rely on one another when it mattered,” he said. Senior Lara Soysal said that the best moment of the weekend was the night before the final round, “when we all got to talk, laugh, cry, and thank each other for a crazy run before we gave it our last shot Sunday morning.”
Congratulations to Team Redwood for your victory on the national stage, and to Mia Venezia and Sahas Chintakayala for your individual accomplishments. Congratulations to the seniors on Team Redwood—Lara Soysal, Samantha Silverio,and David Egloff—for finishing your final competitive season with success.
The LitiGators owe our biggest thank you to our coaches for their continued support. We could not do this without you.