Ridge Bridge

Ridge Forensics Club

The Ridge Forensics team is back in full force once again this school year, showing its local, regional and national competitors what it does best: find their voices and win. The team kicked the year off snagging first place team sweepstakes at the Yale Invitational in September, and most recently won the same honor at the George Mason University Patriot Games in early December. 

Outstanding performances at the George Mason University Patriot Games were given by: seniors Natalie Ramirez Porras (champion, Programmed Oral Interpretation), Anjali Dadlani (champion, Humorous Interpretation), Abigail Lee (Original Oratory, second place and Impromptu Speaking, semifinalist), Alyssa Kim (Dramatic Interpretation, third place), Ginny Kim (Congressional Debate, ninth place), Amy Cao (Original Oratory, semifinalist and Extemporaneous Speaking, semifinalist); juniors Navya Raju (Extemporaneous Speaking, second place and Original Oratory, quarterfinalist), Ami Singh and Aayush Bhakey (Duo Interpretation, second place), Aayush Bhakey (Informative Speaking, fourth place), Sky-Rose Jaamann (Original Oratory, sixth place and Impromptu Speaking, quarterfinalist), Andrew Cui (Congressional Debate, seventh place), Aditya Rai (Congressional Debate, 12th place), Celine Huang (Original Oratory, semifinalist), James Mathai (Original Oratory, quarterfinalist), Aparna Iyer (Extemporaneous Speaking, quarterfianlist); sophomores Amulya Kollipara (Declamation, second place and Impromptu Speaking, semifinalist), Millie Gupta (Declamation, third place; Informative Speaking, fifth place and Individual Sweeps, seventh place), Adhirai Karthik (Oral Interpretation, fifth place), Hasini Namburi (Informative Speaking, seventh place; Declamation, semifinalist and Impromptu Speaking, quarterfianlist), Jia Aggarwal (Congressional Debate, tenth place), Aanvi Khade (Congressional Debate, semifinalist), Sriya Bhamidipaty (Congressional Debate, semifinalist), Eva Chen (Varsity Lincoln Douglas Debate, quarterfinalist and Extemporaneous Speaking, quarterfinalist) and freshman Adalia Karda-Marok (Declamation, semifinalist). 

Additional outstanding performances at Princeton were given by: seniors Vivian Zhu (first speaker, Varsity Public Forum Debate), Vivian Zhu with Pranav Mahesh (Varsity Public Forum Debate, quarterfinalists), Rebecca Davidov (Varsity Lincoln Douglas Debate, quarterfinalist and Varsity Lincoln Douglas Debate, fourth speaker) and Pranav Mahesh (Varsity Public Forum Debate, second speaker); sophomore Meera Shah (Varsity Lincoln Douglas Debate, double-octofinalist and ninth speaker); freshmen Himnish Koul (Novice Lincoln Douglas Debate, second place and fourth speaker), Aryav Gaddam (Novice Lincoln Douglas Debate, semifinalist), Rosa Qin (Novice Lincoln Douglas Debate, quarterfinalist and third speaker), Anya Animesh (Novice Lincoln Douglas Debate, double-octofinalist and eighth speaker), and Rushil Jha (Novice Lincoln Douglas Debate, double-octofinalist). 

So far this year, the following students have been named champions of their respective categories: seniors Amy Cao (Extemporaneous Speaking), Grace Aulicino (Programmed Oral Interpretation) and Rebecca Davidov (Varsity Lincoln Douglas Debate); juniors James Mathai (Original Oratory) and Navya Raju (Extemporaneous Speaking); sophomores Adhirai Karthik (Oral Interpretation) and Amulya Kollipara (Declamation); and freshman Amandeep Manda (Junior Lincoln Douglas Debate). Other notable mentions so far this year include: juniors Matthew Sherman, Aarya Raval, Mannan Pandey, Sameer Bagga, Saketha Kedarsetty, Yash Deshpande, Shaurya Ganjoo, Maryam Faizan, Kuber Sarwal, Sameer Wadhwa and Alice Yeo; sophomores MJ Chu, Sameer Kandra, Ella Tadros, Raina Prassad, Max Kern, Siona Belawat, Advik Sateeja, Eden Chacko, Faye Fletcher, Shrey Sharma, and Jia Aggarwal; and freshmen Carolina Zhao, Vivian Liu and Aditi Terli.

The Ridge Forensics Team is comprised of two parts: speech and debate. “Speech” competitors focus on Public Address (ie: original or replicated speeches) and Interpretation (ie: dramatic or humorous interpretation of content), while “Debate” competitors focus on different styles of formal arguments. The students practice upwards of three times a week with coaches from all across the country, some of whom are Ridge/WAMS Staff, Ridge alumni, working actors, former forensics champions and more. They also practice amongst themselves, with fellow teammates serving as not just friends and competitors, but as student coaches offering detailed feedback. Nearly every weekend, you can find RF students dressed in business professional attire, piling into buses at 7:30am and not often not returning until 6:30pm. They continue to show exceptional sportsmanship, professionalism and dedication week after week. Director David Yastremski is incredibly proud of their work and looks forward to 2024.