On March 14, 2021 Case Western earned a bid to the National Championship Tournament for the first time in ten years. The members of this team include Emerson McGinnis ‘21, Max Liu ‘21, Nick Vitello ‘21, Nick Cosmo ‘22, Nick Micic ‘22, Prateek Dullur ‘23, and, Zoe Swenson ‘23,. The team was coached by Brad Ouambo and Imokhai Okolo.
Over the past several seasons, Case Mock Trial has made going to Nationals its explicit goal. Unfortunately, each year the program fell short of that goal. In 2019, the program failed to make it out of regionals for the first time since 2014. Undaunted by the setback, the program members regrouped and returned in the 2020 season stronger than ever. The A team of that year narrowly missed Nationals due to a tiebreaker. The 2020 season then saw us graduate the class that was most responsible for creating a winning culture in the program. Normally, these graduations would lead to a rebuilding year…not for us. The foundations of the 2020 season set the program up for further success in the 2021 season.
This is because the 2020 season did not just have a talented senior class, but it brought along a zealously dedicated freshman class that was part of CWRU’s first B team to compete at ORCS. As these sophomores took the reigns in the 2021 season they insisted that they could make a Nationals run too. In addition to these sophomores, the recruitment for this season saw similarly dedicated and talented first years join our ranks. Two of whom, Nick Vitello and Prateek Dullur, were on Team 1234 when it earned the Nationals bid. Furthermore, the program had seasoned veterans who had nearly earned a bid to Nationals the year before. The combination of new exuberant energy and driven veterans created the conditions for Team 1234 to finally break through the ORCS barrier with a record of 9-2-1.
To get to Nationals, Team 1234 had to compete with Rochester A, University of Tennesse Chattenooga, Muhlenburg College, and Arizona State University B. Along the way, first-year mocker Prateek Dullur won an All ORCS attorney award and witness veteran Nick Micic won an All - ORCS witness award.
The program was so deep that the B Team, had a winning record of 6-5-1 at ORCS. This B team’s ORCS record ranks behind only Team 1234 in 2021, the 2011 Nationals Team, and last year’s A Team that narrowly missed Nationals. Additionally, Ben Chanenson ‘23 and Vishu Chandrasekhar ‘23 both won All ORCS attorney awards.
On April 16, 2021 Team 1234 will compete at the National Championship Tournament.