TEXAS TECH SPEECH AND DEBATE TEAM SWEEPS COMPETITION
February 16, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: Feb. 16, 2005
CONTACT: Jeff Stoughton, jeff.stoughton@ttu.edu
LUBBOCK –Members of the Texas Tech University Speech and Debate team secured the
top four spots at the Oklahoma Sweetheart Swing tournament at the University of Oklahoma
Feb. 11-13.
The competition featured parliamentary debate, in which teams of two faced off on
a variety of topics. The topics changed for each round and included current events
such as President Bush’s economic policies and North Korea’s nuclear arsenal.
“You name it, it’s fair game,” said head coach Ric Shafer. “As long as it’s in newspapers
or on TV, we’re expected to be prepared for it.”
Texas Tech’s opponents included Rice University, West Texas A&M University, the University
of Oklahoma and other schools from around the nation. The Sweetheart Swing is a national
tournament hosted by the University of Oklahoma and sanctioned by the American Forensics
Association and the National Parliamentary Debate Association. The tournament is open
to all colleges and is used as a preliminary competition to tournaments held by AFA
and NPDA.
Texas Tech participants were:
• Arika McCoy of Dripping Springs,
• Tim West of Amarillo,
• Vamsi Vemuru of Odessa,
• Anthony Putnicki of El Paso,
• Sonia Shah of Carrollton,
• Steven Chang of Hawaii,
• Gianpaolo Macerola of Houston
• Shiva Bodhireddy of Lubbock.