PURCELLVILLE, Va. – Patrick Henry College, a small Christian liberal arts school in Virginia, has won its fifth consecutive Moot Court National Championship.
The victory came at this year's American Collegiate Moot Court Association championship.
Patrick Henry College was founded in 2000 by Michael Farris, a constitutional lawyer and homeschool father who wished to create an institution that would appeal to homeschool students with an interest in government and politics.
Since its founding, PHC has made a name for itself nationally by producing some of the best debaters and moot court competitors on the collegiate circuit.
At this year's competition, PHC's Andrew Ferguson, a senior, along with his partner, sophomore Katie Tipton, took the first-place title. This made Ferguson, who won on behalf of PHC last year, the second competitor ever to win back-to-back championships. The only other competitor to win back-to-back moot court championships was Rachel Heflin, a PHC alumnus.
"Winning a national championship is not an individual effort," Ferguson said. "It takes a hard-working partner, a supportive team, excellent coaches, and most of all the blessing of a gracious God. Without any of these, winning is an impossibility."
Farris coached the teams to victory alongside American politics professor Dr. Guliuzza.
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About 300 teams competed in the nine national qualifying tournaments for bids to the national championship tournament, which was held at Regent University Law School in Virginia Beach, Va. After the regional tournament, 75 percent of all teams were eliminated. Schools that qualified for the championship included Duke, Texas A&M, The United States Air Force Academy and the University of Virginia.
PHC has now won seven national championships and is the five-time defending champion.
Early on, many questioned whether the vision for Patrick Henry College would ever come to fruition. In order to be uninhibited in teaching a Christian worldview in all PHC courses, Farris determined to not accept any federal funding and relied solely on a generous donor base.
Since then, PHC has more than doubled since its original size. It continues to be a formidable force in national forensic competitions and continues to place graduates at top graduate schools and positions within government.