Roster and Accomplishments From The 1976-1977 Season

Marquette made it seven in a row when the Webster Club once again claimed the season-ending National Forensic League National Championship in June. Featuring a deep squad of talented debaters and speakers, the 1976-1977 Webster Club took home dozens of trophies from across the country.

Led by Mr. James Copeland, the Nation’s finest coach, the Webster Club again won tournaments throughout the United States. The Speech and Debate season started in July, with members attending institutes as far away as Washington, D.C., and ended late the next June with yet another victory in the National Forensic League Tournament in Seattle, Washington. This twelve month season was highlighted by numerous team and individual championships.

As a team the club was crowned number one at the tournaments held in Pittsburgh, PA, South St. Paul, MN, and Toledo, OH. In Debate, there were three prominent teams (Steve Illa and Mike Zanoni, Tim Schally and Bill Isaacson, Scott Murphy and Bill Pangman). Two of these teams (Illa and Zanoni, Schally and Isaacson) finished one-two in the state tournament. The debate teams won tournaments in Miami, FL, Nashville, TN, and Paris, TN. In speech, major tournaments were won by John B. Mullen, Peter Ziebert, John Jansky, and Nanda Alapati. Individual championships in Pittsburgh, Paris, and Atlanta, GA were the highlights of the speech season. Around the state, the junior varsity won numerous tournament victories. Mr. Copeland smiles as he looks to the future…

—Flambeau, 1977

Roster of Students & Coaches

Coaches

Thanks go out to the able bodied assistant coaches, Mr. Meuler (actually the Kaiser on roller skates), Jim Fleissner (class of ‘75 and the Nation’s second best coach), and up and coming star, Rick Sankovitz (‘76).

—Flambeau, 1977

James Copeland - Director
Gregory Meuler
Jim Fleissner
Rick Sankovitz

Varsity Debaters

Mark Kaehny
Mark Strauch
Tim Schally
Bill Pangmann
John Murphy
Robert Isaacson
Martin Dowling
Steve Illa
Michael Zanoni

Varsity Speakers

Anthony Ziebert
John Nash
Tim Holtermann
Ketan Sheth
John Slattery
Scott Dirks
John Goodwin
Robert Beck
Peter Ziebert
John Jansky
Joseph Casper
Hugh Dugan
John Mullen
Nanda Alapati
Mark Siettmann

Junior Varsity Debaters

Michael Backus
Roger Kumferman
John Barrett
James Johnston
Michael Lonski
Edmund Fish
James Foley
Marc McCrory
Scott Langlois
Paul Christenson
Eric Hofstetter
John Foley
James Boehrer
Christopher Zinski
Mark Griffin
Stephen Christie
Eric Barboriak
Stephen Girard
Randall Halle
Mark Guinan
William Kolb

Club Officers

Hugh Dugan
Steve Illa
John B. Mullen
Tim Schally
John Jansky
Nanda Alapati
Peter Ziebert
Michael Zanoni
Mark Griffin

Team Accomplishments

Sweepstakes Honors

1st Place - National Forensic League National Tournament
1st Place - Pittsburgh, PA
1st Place - South St. Paul, MN
1st Place - Toledo, OH

Policy Debate Honors

Closeout Champions - WI State Tournament
1st Place - Miami, FL
1st Place - Nashville, TN
1st Place - Paris, TN

Individual Events Honors

1st Place - Pittsburgh, PA
1st Place - Paris, TN
1st Place - Atlanta, GA

National Qualifiers

John Jansky
Peter Ziebert
Tim Schally
Michael Zanoni
Bill Isaacson
John Mullen
Steve Illa

National Tournament Locations

National Forensic League:
Seattle, Washington

National Catholic Forensic League:
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

National Policy Debate Resolution

Resolved: That a comprehensive program of penal reform should be adopted throughout the United States.

Photos

Click on the following photos to view a larger version. If you are able to provide a caption for any of the photos currently missing one or are able to correct a captioning error, please email Bill Batterman. Original, high-resolution scans of the photos are also available by contacting Bill.

The Varsity Debate Team: (left to right) M. Kaehny, M. Strauch, T. Schally, W. Pangmann, J. Murphy, R. Isaacson, M. Dowling, S. Illa, M. Zanoni.

The Webster Club officers: (top to bottom, left to right) H. Dugan, S. Illa, John B. Mullen, T. Schally, J. Jansky, N. Alapati, P. Ziebert, M. Zanoni, M. Griffin.

Qualifiers for the National Forensic League Championship: J. Jansky, P. Ziebert, T. Schally, M. Zanoni, B. Isaacson, J. Mullen, S. Illa.

Junior Varsity Debate Team: (first row) M. Backus, R. Kumferman, J. Barrett, J. Johnston, M. Lonski, E. Fish, (second row) James Foley, M. McCrory, S. Langlois, P. Christenson, B. Hofstetter, John Foley, (third row) J. Boehrer, C. Zinski, M. Griffin, S. Christy, E. Barboriak, S. Gerard, (top row) R. Halle, M. Guinan, W. Kolb.