Mock Trial sweeps tournament

Home News Mock Trial sweeps tournament
Mock Trial sweeps tournament
Hillsdale College’s mock trial team. Courtesy | Sophie Klomparens

Senior and team captain Sophie Klomparens led one of the Hillsdale College Mock Trial teams to an unprecedented victory in the last tournament of the semester. 

Team 1214, one of the college’s three teams, received an honorable mention at the Yale University Invitational last weekend, while team 1215 received first place in the virtual American Wonk Invitational against American University, George Washington University, Santa Clara University, and Furman University. 

“The fact that we just kept placing better and doing better in every single tournament is not surprising to me at all,” Klomparens said. 

The team consists of one senior, one sophomore, and eight freshmen. In addition, every member but Klomparens is a first-year participant, making their success even more remarkable. 

Klomparens said competing with newcomers has been fun.

“It’s been really like a breath of fresh air, because I’ve been doing mock for so long, so it’s sort of like I’m re-experiencing it for the first time, which is really, really cool,” she said.

Mock Trial Coach and Lecturer in Rhetoric and Public Address Jonathan Church ’17 said the freshmen exceeded expectations. 

“They ended up going 8-0,” Church said. “They won every single ballot.” 

Team 1215 received second place in its last two tournaments and with an 87% win rate, have the highest win percentage of any team in Hillsdale Mock Trial history for the fall semester.

Freshman Evalyn Homoelle attributed the winning season to Klomparens’ experience and her teammates’ hard work.

“Sophie is so good at encouraging us and getting us to focus, even though it’s easy to get distracted when we’re doing tournaments over Zoom in quarantine,” Homoelle said. “Having her gather us together, whether over Zoom or in person, and praying for us gets us focused on working together as a team and doing our best.” 

Klomparens worked closely with the coaches. Jonathan Church said Klomparens’ understanding of the goals and philosophy of the program and her passion for developing new members made her a perfect candidate for team captain. 

“She understands the goals we’re after so she’s a natural fit to go and work with the freshmen and new members,” Church said. 

Klomparens, who has been on the team since her freshman year, said the most important thing new members can do is remain focused during competition. 

“You have to only focus only on the thing you’re doing, and not even just on the round that you’re in, but the thing that’s happening at that moment,” she said. “That’s something that took me a long time to figure out.”

Despite this year’s Zoom-formatted tournaments and the separation of team members due to quarantine, the members said they see each other as family. 

“When I first thought about joining mock trial, I was intimidated by the workload and Hillsdale’s excellent track record in the past, but everyone is so gracious and welcoming and encouraging,” Homoelle said. “They really want to see you grow both in your speaking abilities and as a person. It is not about how you do as an individual but how your performance affects the team.”

Freshman Josh Devlieger thanked Klomparens and the coaches for introducing the freshmen to the collegiate level of mock trial. 

“They serve as great role models both in mock trial and in life,” Devlieger said. 

The team members agreed that their closeness contributed to their successes. 

“Our team has gelled really well because we’re all new to this. It helps having our senior to be our rock who holds us together. We all love being together, so competing is enjoyable,” Homoelle said. “It comes across when you love what you’re doing. 

Klomparens also credited last weekend’s success to the group’s teamwork and winning attitude. 

“They were always ready to go above and beyond,” she said. “We had multiple members who had to prep for another person’s role because someone was sick. That’s the kind of dedication that contributes to having a team that’s so good.”