West Virginia University students have debated their way to another strong finish, ending the season ranked 40th in the nation out of about 125 schools.

The WVU Debate Team beat out Boston College , Florida State University, Georgetown University , University of California , Los Angeles , University of Florida , University of Notre Dame, rival University of Pittsburgh , University of Southern California and University of Texas , among others.

This ranking is especially noteworthy considering that the team is very young and has no graduating seniors, said Neil Berch, debate coach and associate professor in the Department of Political Science in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences.

The final competition of the season for the squad was the Cross Examination Debate Association’s national tournament in Dallas .

Two teams took part in varsity competition for the first time: the novice team of Michael Stark, a sophomore political science and economics student from Charleston , and Karen Snyder, a freshman journalism major from New Martinsville; and the team of

Tim Oeschger, a junior political science and economics student from Chester Springs , Pa. , and Lee Zaniewski, a freshman engineering major from Westerville, Ohio. Each team won one debate.

Meanwhile, second-year debaters Kayden Skinner, a sophomore political science major from New Martinsville, and Samantha Godbey, a sophomore international studies student from Walton, finished with a respectable record.

Godbey became the first WVU debater to finish in the top half of the individual speaker standings at Cross Examination Debate Association nationals, Berch noted.

Also notable was the team of Kate Huleatt, a junior English and economics major from Morgantown , and Doug Rogers, a junior economics and political science student from Latrobe , Pa.

With every team member returning next year, Berch expects to improve upon the team’s new style introduced late this season. He also hopes that research on next year’s debate topic will result in collaborative research, culminating in conference papers and scholarly publication.