Notre Dame Speech and Debate

03/20/2026

Giving is now live for ND Day! Help support our team by scanning the QR code or following the link in the comments! Any gift, small or large, is appreciated and funds our team’s travel! Thank you to all who support ND Debate!

11/17/2025

On November 15th, the Notre Dame Speech and Debate Team won 1st place among universities in the National Online Forensics “Topaz Invitational” Tournament.

In IPDA Debate, Sophia Fung claimed first place, Z Zavala was the runner up, and the Irish won 6 of the 8 top awards.

In Individual Events, Sammantha Krahl earned a “Gold” in Persuasive Speaking (going straight 1’s) and Collin Gibbons won “Silver” in Extemporaneous Speaking.

Complete IPDA results:

Sophia Fung earned “Gold” and the 1st Place Speaker Award
Z Zavala earned “Gold” and the 2nd Place Speaker Award
Natalee Shipley earned “Gold” and the 3rd Place Speaker Award
Liam Sagucio earned “Silver” and the 5th Place Speaker Award
Xavier Williams earned “Silver” and the 7th Place Speaker Award
Tristan Alkire earned “Silver” and the 8th Place Speaker Award

The team was coached by graduate student Morgan Mannion and Dr. George LaMaster. This second online tournament completes the team’s season for now. Stay tuned for future adventures!

09/30/2025

On Sunday, September 28th, at their first tournament of the season, the ND Speech and Debate Team won second place overall against a field of 19 universities. At the East Coast Early Bird Tournament, hosted online by Queens College of New York, fourteen students competed live over Zoom. Jack Johnson was the tournament champion in Varsity Debate (IPDA), and Joanna Luan took 2nd place in Novice Debate (IPDA). Students also competed in Extemporaneous Speaking and Impromptu Speaking. Additional results appear below. Go Irish!

Quarterfinalist Novice IPDA – Sophia Fung
Semifinalist Novice IPDA – Xavier Williams
Quarterfinalist Varsity IPDA – Tristan Alkire (Holy Cross)
Semifinalist IPDA – Z Zavala
Jack Johnson – Tournament Champion in Varsity IPDA (and 3rd place top speaker)
Joanna Luan – 2nd Place in Novice IPDA (and 3rd place top speaker)
2nd Place Overall Team Sweepstakes

05/09/2025

It appears Pope Leo competed in high school. :)

Clipping found in The Holland Evening Sentinel published in Holland, Michigan on 10/24/1972. (Robert Prevost) Attends State Forensic Congress in Lansing

05/05/2025

End-of-the-year 2025. Good luck on finals, team!

04/28/2025

The Atlantic Coast Conference sponsors a debate tournament for member schools. Our President, Sam Marchand, and Vice-President, Z Zavala, were proud to represent! Though they didn't advance to the final round this time, they won a victory for civil discourse in our nation's capital.

04/08/2025

Please consider supporting the team for Notre Dame Day 2025!
Operating as a student club for the last several years, this year we launched a new program to great success. We have big plans for the future, but at least for 2025-26, we will rely on the funds we raise to travel. Notre Dame Day is April 29th. Your contribution will help our students thrive!

You can make your gift here: https://giveto.nd.edu/campaigns/38042/donations/new
(Type "debate" into the designation field, and "scholars - speech and debate" will appear.)

02/24/2025

Over the weekend, 15 students traveled to Indianapolis for the State Tournaments in Speech and Debate. Highlights include first-year Jack Johnson winning the top speaker award in Novice Debate and sophomore Z Zavala winning the state championship in Novice Impromptu. A complete list of 19 awards appears below. 29 total students traveled to at least one of 8 tournaments this year. Most of them are first-year students. Go Irish!

Debate

Novice Top Speaker Award – Jack Johnson (first-year)

2nd Place Novice Debate – Jack Johnson (first-year)

Varsity 4th place speaker – Will Michalski (first-year)

Novice Quarter Finalist – Tristan Alkire (Holy Cross, junior)

Varsity Quarter Finalists – Will Michalski (first-year)

Varsity Quarter Finalists – Natalee Shipley(first-year)

Team Sweeps 3rd place

Speech

Novice Impromptu State Champion – Z Zavala (sophomore)

Novice Impromptu 3rd place – Natalee Shipley (first-year)

Novice Impromptu 6th place – Jack Johnson (first-year)

Novice Extemporaneous Speaking 6th place – James Murano (first-year)

Novice Extemporaneous Speaking 5th place – Ethan Chiang (sophomore)

Novice Informative – 4th place – Lauren Wenifer (first-year)

Novice Persuasion – 4th place Z Zavala (sophomore)

Novice Persuasion – 3rd place – Veronica Bofah (first-year)

Improv. Duo 4th place Jack Johnson (first-year) and Rodrigo D’arriaga Schmidt Souza (first-year)

Improv. Duo 7th place Z Zavala (sophomore) and Tristan Alkire (junior)

Varsity Prose 6th place Quinlen Schachle (first-year)

Interviewing 3rd place – Ethan Chiang (sophomore)

Team Sweeps 4th place

02/04/2025

This past weekend, eight novice debaters traveled to Nashville, TN, for a British Parliamentary debate tournament at Vanderbilt University. They engaged in topics related to social media, DeepSeek AI, North Korea, globalism, and nonviolent activism. Though we didn't have any finalists this time, the team stopped at Buc-ees FTW.

12/11/2024

Speech and Debate Team Wins in Indy!

Over the weekend, the Notre Dame Speech and Debate Team attended tournaments at the University of Indianapolis and Butler University. On Sunday, the team brought home the 1st place team award in debate! (They also placed 3rd in the combined sweepstakes for speech and debate.) 11 Irish competed against universities from Missouri to West Virgina. Natalee Shipley was the tournament champion in Novice IPDA debate and Will Michalski won the top speaker award in the same event. A complete list of awards appears below.

The students debated topics concerning global politics, economic justice, government regulation, popular culture, and even theology (Resolved: An omnipotent and all-loving God is compatible with free will.)

Butler University Tournament
Natalee Shipley – Novice IPDA Tournament Champion and 6th place speaker award
Will Michalski – 1st place speaker award
Enoch Griffith – Novice IPDA Semi-Finalist
Eric Ribeiro – Novice IPDA Semi-Finalist and 3rd place speaker award
Yazmin Reyes – 3rd place Novice Impromptu Speaking

University of Indianapolis Tournament
Natalee Shipley – Novice IPDA Quarter-Finalist and 4th place speaker award
Will Michalski – Novice IPDA Quarter-Finalist and 5th place speaker award

This semester, 22 students have completed in at least one of five tournaments.

10/28/2024

Over the weekend, a small squad of five team members engaged with students from 20 other universities at Moraine Valley, near Chicago. Sophomore Sam Marchand advanced to quarter finals in IPDA Debate, and first-year student Ben Gallei broke through the semi-finals to claim 5th place in Novice Impromptu Speaking. All told, five students engaged in 21 debates and delivered 14 speeches over topics such as the war in the Ukraine, tariffs on imports, the Republic of Chad, climate change, self-restraint, fear... and even the merits of regulating trick or treating. A special highlight of the trip included dinner at the home of friends Eugene and Gina, who happen to be the parents of a rock star who might join us in the future. Go Irish!