Shady Side Academy Speech and Debate Team starts strong

The Shady Side Academy Senior School Speech and Debate Team is off to a strong start in the 2021-2022 season, school officials said.

After kicking off the season in the Upper St. Clair Novice Tournament on Oct. 30, the SSA team traveled to the Moon Area High School Tournament on Nov. 13. Senior Riley Doyle took first place in Impromptu Speaking, junior Maya Leyzarovich took first place and earned a bid to the state tournament in Congress, and freshmen Audrey Jiang and Sunny Zhao placed first in Duo Interpretation. Senior Crystal Ma placed second and earned a state bid in Prose Interpretation, and sophomore Hari Viswanathan placed fourth in Congress.

On Nov. 20, Shady Side Academy hosted its own virtual speech and debate tournament, which drew 179 competitors from 22 schools in four states, including 12 SSA students. The team of sophomores Campbell Tucker-Hill and Andrew Zeng took first place and earned a state bid – and were the only undefeated team – in Parliamentary Debate. Doyle placed third in Impromptu Speaking, and sophomore Gabriel Feinstein placed third in Commentary. The team of senior Anish Kusumanchi and Viswanathan placed fourth in Parliamentary Debate, and junior Nichole Poltinnikov placed fifth in Lincoln-Douglas Debate.