ANN ARBOR—For the second consecutive year, the University of Michigan Debate Team won second place at the National Debate Tournament.

The U-M team of seniors Alexander Pappas and Ellis Allen defeated Michigan State University on a 5-0 decision in the quarterfinals and Harvard University in the semifinals on a 4-1 decision, but lost to Northwestern University on a 3-2 decision in the final round. The 69th annual tournament, held April 3-6 at the University of Iowa, drew the top 78 teams in the country.

“Finishing second place at the National Debate Tournament two years in a row is a unique and historic achievement for a college debate team,” said Aaron Kall, who directs the debate team. “The success achieved by Alex and Ellis lays the foundation for the U-M debate program to compete for national debate championships on a consistent basis.”

U-M was the only debate program to advance three teams to the elimination rounds of the 2015 national debate tournament. The teams of William Morgan/Joe Krakoff, and Dustin Meyers-Levy/Tommy Donovan joined Pappas and Allen in advancing to the elimination rounds.

Teams argued whether the United States should legalize all or nearly all of one or more of the following: marijuana, prostitution, online gambling, the sale of human organs and physician assisted suicide.

The top tournament prize has eluded the debate team, which is part of the Division of Student Life, since the program began in 1890. This is the fourth time U-M has taken second place in the national tournament: 1989, 1991, 2014 and 2015.

More information:

• About the program, visit michigandebate.com.