From January 13-16 the University of Iowa Mock Trial (UIMT) program sent its top team to Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee for an intense weekend of competition. Team 1424 finished in fifth place out of 24 teams at this prestigious tournament.

Seniors Melissa Osman and Will Mattessich led team 1424 to compete against some of the top programs in the country including Rhodes College, the University of Georgia, and Washington University-St. Louis. The team competed in the top round for the final round against Georgia and ended the tournament just a few points from first place.

The program is currently preparing for regional tournaments which will be held during the first two weeks of February. In the meantime the program will send teams to compete in Illinois, New York, and Iowa. In addition, several members of the program are volunteering their time to assist high school teams in the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City area.