Hamilton College Mock Trial kicked off its competitive season on Feb. 5–7 with their B team’s regional tournament. During the tournament, they competed against 20 other teams for one of five bids to the next round of the national competition, the Opening Round Championship Series (ORCS). Hamilton’s B team had to secure a high record of wins in the regional tournament in order to earn a bid to the intermediate tournament. Success at the intermediate level means that the team has a chance at qualifying for nationals. The team competed via Zoom, a trial format they had ample time to adjust to and perfect during this past Fall season.

Hamilton’s B team put up a tough fight and won three out of four rounds, taking six out of eight ballots and securing a spot in ORCS. Hamilton beat the University of Kansas, St. Xavier University, and Gonzaga University, taking ballots from a point differential ranging from +4 to an impressive +35. Hamilton dropped ballots to just one team, the University of Texas at Austin, which went on to win the tournament with a perfect score of 8–0.

On Feb. 27–28, Hamilton’s A team faced some tough competition in their regional tournament, hitting three out of the four of the highest-ranked teams out of the 20 teams competing in their regionals, including Miami University, the University of Cincinnati, and Hillsdale College. Hamilton split with Miami University, the University of Cincinnati, and Hillsdale College, and won both ballots against Pepperdine University. In total, Hamilton picked up five out of eight ballots, dropping the three ballots by only minus 1, minus 1, and minus 2 points, in addition to having the highest point differential in each round. The team finished with a competitive score of seventeen, meaning Hamilton’s A team faced high-ranking and high-scoring teams. After a long fight, Mock Trial won their ticket to ORCS off of the open-bid list, a list compiled each year of teams that earn approximately 6–5 ballots but did not secure a spot to ORCS due to the limited number of bids offered at each tournament. Both Hillsdale College and the University of Cincinnati earned bids to ORCS.

This is the second year in a row that Hamilton will bring not just one, but two teams to ORCS after the addition of a “B” team just four years ago.

This coming weekend, March 13–14, both Hamilton College Mock Trial teams will compete in the ORCS tournament. This is a quick turnaround for the A team, which competed less than two weeks prior. Both teams will need approximately at least six out of eight ballots total to secure a spot in the national competition — a feat Hamilton College Mock Trial achieved most recently in 2015. Competitors are excited for this year’s tournament because the teams’ ORCS brackets will be determined differently compared to years past. The bracket is normally determined by region, and Hamilton College Mock Trial’s brackets are typically some of the hardest in the United States because of the way that high-ranking teams are distributed across the country. With this year’s tournament being on Zoom, teams in each ORCS will be matched despite geographical differences.