Irvine, CA ORCs Poll

[MayerOfLA]

Finally, Memphis will feel incomplete without UC Berkeley.  I won't surprise anyone when I say that they are an awesome team.  Max, Jay, and Kimya are as formidable as any counsel table in the country.

After battling out three unbelievably tough rounds against Berkeley A this year, let me tell you, I wholeheartedly agree. They're phenomenal competitors from whom we learned a great deal; it's a complete shock that they won't be competing in Memphis.

Thanks Justin for putting on yet another flawless tournament! Shout outs to Washington (Taylor, it was a pleasure hitting your team!), UCI, ASU, and obviously Berkeley for four great trials.

[DesertClassic]

Congrats to UC-Irvine, the Class of the West 2009-10. Qualifying both teams, via a B team split with UCLA A, is very impressive. I'll agree that it's quite surprising UC-Berkeley did not qualify, and that Memphis will be incomplete without them. Hard to argue that they were not one of the top-48 teams in the nation besides that whole not-qualifying-to-Golds thing. I had them in my top-10 all year. Also, I'm sure the tiebreakers were applied properly (as discussed above) but I can't help feeling that a team taking both ballots, in the final round of the tourney no less, deserves a bid to Gold over the team they double-Wed. Bummer, USC. I guess they were paired as a team that couldn't qualify no matter what, and the opposite for ASU.

Not exactly.  USC could have won the breaker.  They just got unlucky.  Meanwhile, ASU got ridiculously lucky.  About 7 different things had to happen for us to make it in, including what happened in the Gonzaga-Wazzu, CMC-UCSD, and UCLA-Cal Poly rounds.  We were in an insane NFL playoff scenario and fate smiled upon us.  We are remarkably fortunate and our good fortune is, of course, the misfortune of others. 

[DesertClassic]

After battling out three unbelievably tough rounds against Berkeley A this year, let me tell you, I wholeheartedly agree. They're phenomenal competitors from whom we learned a great deal; it's a complete shock that they won't be competing in Memphis.

Thanks Justin for putting on yet another flawless tournament! Shout outs to Washington (Taylor, it was a pleasure hitting your team!), UCI, ASU, and obviously Berkeley for four great trials.

I saw your cross of Baxamusa 4th round against us:  Simply incredible.

[MayerOfLA]

Thanks Jimmy - congratulations on your A-team's finish this weekend! And, if you're looking for ribs in my former home town, Rendezvous barbecue is out of this world. =)

[WolfInWolfsClothing]

Not exactly.  USC could have won the breaker.  They just got unlucky.  Meanwhile, ASU got ridiculously lucky.  About 7 different things had to happen for us to make it in, including what happened in the Gonzaga-Wazzu, CMC-UCSD, and UCLA-Cal Poly rounds.  We were in an insane NFL playoff scenario and fate smiled upon us.  We are remarkably fortunate and our good fortune is, of course, the misfortune of others. 

It seems that BOTH usc teams were on the cusp heading into Rd 4 - Southern Cal v. Washington was a split, but if USC had taken both ballots, that would've put them in the 5th qualifying spot right behind Irvine A with a 6-2 record and CS of 13.  That's depth over in SoCal... Moreover, if Washington had taken both ballots they would've had a 5-3 record with a CS of 19, which I think would've placed them that same #5 spot after Irvine.  Tough break for a lot of programs, the tiebreaker is hard and a +11/-7 split makes one wonder what happened in that other USC round...

Congrats to everyone to even making it out, sounds like it was an incredible tournament!

[NSC]

I'd like to reiterate what Larson said: On behalf of the UW team, thank you to Michael Smith, Justin Bernstein and the UCI crew for an incredibly well-run tournament.
 
To the teams we hit: USC was polished and smooth. UCLA and UCI are even better than advertised on this site and their bids to Memphis come as no surprise. Personally, I can't think of a better way to start off consecutive mock trial mornings than to give speeches against Stephen Mayer and Marissa Oxman.  Like their teams, they're incredible.  We also enjoyed every minute inside and outside the courtroom with our friends from Pullman, and congrats to Zach Lopez for the atty award- it was well deserved and we'll all remember to get in our corner before beginning re-direct examinations
 
Congratulations and best of luck to the teams that qualified!  We look forward to next year
 
Nick
 
 

[GhostofTomJoad]

I don't understand what all the fuss is about.  This tournament doesn't look to have been that tough

Didn't you already call this a tougher ORC than White Plains?

[DesertClassic]

I think it was sarcasm

[GhostofTomJoad]

Touche.

[Paragon]

Also, as excellent as USC is, I don't think it's fair to take their victory as a clear statement of entitlement to the bid.

Agreed.  Congrats again to ASU A and the rest of the top 6 on your bids, ASU B for being a class act, and Jimmy Cool for the gracious loan of an easel.  Make us proud in Memphis and bring back some hardware!

Also to Cory, Nick, and Alex over at UW, fourth round was the most fun I've had in a while.  I'm looking forward to competing against you guys next year!

[jjjfinney]

Wow, Irvine B is really strong. I can't believe the beat out the top teams on the west coast, including their A team for 1st place. Come to think of it, they have been placing higher than their A team quite a bit. They beat out their A team at regionals, ORCS,  and at Arizona. They even took 3 out of 4 ballots from UCLA A. I'd be shocked if Irvine doesn't completely restack their "A" team before Memphis.

Jake

[Fullajuice]

I had a chance to watch several trials this weekend and I've never seen tougher competition at an AMTA tournament besides the Championship.  In addition to congratulating the teams that are advancing to Memphis, I want to highlight three that deserve to be there, too.  Washington was outstanding.  Their prosecution case had three great witnesses and three powerful attorneys.  With almost everyone returning next season, watch out for the Huskies.
 
USC's attorneys are always good but this is the best I've seen since the Lindsey Greer days.  Aaron Macris is superb and, when it comes to responding to objections, Robson Hauser (sorry, I'm sure I misspelled that) is the best attorney I've seen all season.  He beat up on two of my better attorneys.  He was absolutely unshakable.
 
Finally, Memphis will feel incomplete with UC Berkeley.  I won't surprise anyone when I say that they are an awesome team.  Max, Jay, and Kimya are as formidable as any counsel table in the country.
 
Thanks to everyone for a fantastic weekend!
 
Justin

I couldnt agree more. My heart goes out to USC and Berkeley, two schools that absolutely deserve to be in memphis.
Over the course of the season I grew to fear and respect Berkeley as competitors, and to appreciate their extremely good-natured team outside the courtroom as well. Max Bernstein is one of the most tenacious attorneys i have seen all season, and Kimya, Jay, and the rest of the witnesses are polished and classy.   
As for Robson Hauser, I competed with him on USC's nationals squad back when Bobby Campbell was stabbing folks with needles, and i have yet to meet a mocker with more sheer love of the game. His talent with objections and evidence is a testament to his tenacity as a competitor, as well as to the depth of legal education that Olu's program provides. Looks like those full MRE flashcards really do help
Hauser, I am sad that we will never get that head-to-head round, although perhaps if we did it would be you and not I who is going to memphis. But since it is me, I will do my best to represent UCLA and USC (yes, if i take a long enough shower, red and gold begin to glow beneath the blue). You are one hell of a mocker and a great friend, and USC is lucky to have a guy like you in the program.

P.s Ladies, Hauser is single, and available for evidence tutoring sessions monday-sunday 8PM-3AM.
 

[a-mac]

The juice is running .... to Tennessee. Good luck dude, woop some ass for the west.

[Nur Rauch]

The juice is running .... to Tennessee. Good luck dude, woop some ass for the west.

This year I've come to sympathize rather heavily with regional camaraderie and the out-of-school friendships it can form. You guys have my respect for being so cool with how your ORCS went down.

[Rhodes_Strasberg]

I couldnt agree more. My heart goes out to USC and Berkeley, two schools that absolutely deserve to be in memphis.
Over the course of the season I grew to fear and respect Berkeley as competitors, and to appreciate their extremely good-natured team outside the courtroom as well. Max Bernstein is one of the most tenacious attorneys i have seen all season, and Kimya, Jay, and the rest of the witnesses are polished and classy.   
As for Robson Hauser, I competed with him on USC's nationals squad back when Bobby Campbell was stabbing folks with needles, and i have yet to meet a mocker with more sheer love of the game. His talent with objections and evidence is a testament to his tenacity as a competitor, as well as to the depth of legal education that Olu's program provides. Looks like those full MRE flashcards really do help
Hauser, I am sad that we will never get that head-to-head round, although perhaps if we did it would be you and not I who is going to memphis. But since it is me, I will do my best to represent UCLA and USC (yes, if i take a long enough shower, red and gold begin to glow beneath the blue). You are one hell of a mocker and a great friend, and USC is lucky to have a guy like you in the program.

P.s Ladies, Hauser is single, and available for evidence tutoring sessions monday-sunday 8PM-3AM.
 

Very classy peter.  Grats on your bid.