Hillsdale Mock Trial team C finished its season at regionals last weekend. Though the team will not advance to the next round, the Opening Round Championship Series, freshman and captain Ella Lovins says she was pleased with the team’s performance.

“It didn’t end the way we hoped it would,” Lovins said. “We didn’t get a bid, but we fought really hard and we saw some of the best teams in the nation.” 

Hillsdale swept Lipscomb University team A, winning 2-0, then split ballots with University of Notre Dame team B with a score of 1-1 before losing the last two rounds 2-0 and 1.5-0.5 against Michigan State University team A and Washington University team A, according to Lovins.

Lovins also said team C competed well in the tournament. 

“I saw some of the best performances from my teammates that I’ve seen all season,” Lovins said. “We saw really tight scores and really great stand-out performances from some of our members.”

Freshman Nina Morey, who watched the tournament, said team C, which had an entirely new roster between fall semester and the spring season, came together over the week between the last invitational tournament of the season and regionals. 

“Having to mold together so quickly and then immediately go into two back-to-back weekends of tournaments — I think honestly those tournaments helped a lot for us to bond and got us really well interwoven,” Morey said. 

Lovins also said that the team worked hard to get ready for regionals. 

“Especially in the week in between our invitational and regionals, the team really came together to put in the work to prepare,” Lovins said. 

 Hillsdale was the only team in the tournament to score against Washington University in Saint Louis, according to Morey. 

“Despite the fact that we didn’t get what we came for, the fact that we were able to take half a ballot off of such a good team was really satisfying, and it was great to see everyone step up and compete well,” Ahern said. 

Ahern and Morey also said that they were very grateful for the Mock Trial coaches, Sophie Belloncle and John and Lindsey Church.   

“The reason that the mock trial team as a whole has grown more successful and probably will keep growing is because of the work that those three put into us,” Morey said. 

Ahern also said that the coaches were dedicated to helping the team. 

“They have been phenomenal,” Ahern said. “They’re really good at encouraging everyone and pointing out where people have improved, but at the same time giving us constructive criticism and really helping build the team so that we know where we have to focus and where we have to put in more work.”

Ahern was eager to continue training, even though the season finished for team C. 

“It is hard knowing that mock trial for the semester is likely over for me, and that it was over so quickly, but several of us have committed to doing more work over the semester to get better. We’re just so excited for next semester to get back in,” Ahern said. 

Lovins said that she was also looking forward to next semester’s competitions. 

“We’re a bunch of freshmen facing off with some pretty big teams,” Lovins said. “So keep an eye on where we go.”