ECC mock trial team advances to nationals

Hard work and dedication helped Elgin Community College's mock trial team trounce some Ivy Leaguers in the fall.

That same work ethic this year has propelled team members all the way to nationals.

The team Tuesday morning received a bid for the American Mock Trial Association Nationals, held March 12-14 at the Lake County Courthouse in Waukegan.

"It feels amazing to know that this school can still provide you with the right tools and you're still able to do just as much as the students who go to those Ivy Leagues and big four-year schools," team president Eleni Bala, of Montgomery, said. "We're individuals with jobs and families and children and we leave all that behind. We go out there and do the best that we can."

ECC's team last weekend tied for eighth place in the AMTA regional tournament held in Joliet. While the top eight spots got an automatic bid, team adviser Ronald Kowalczyk said, ECC was later offered a slot.

ECC didn't even have a mock trial team two years ago. In the fall of 2007, Kowalczyk, a paralegal professor, was approached by a student who had participated in mock trial in high school and was hoping to join a team in college.

Kowalczyk started the group, making ECC one of just two community colleges to take part in American Mock Trial Association events. Last fall, as the only community college invited to Harvard's annual Crimson Classic tournament, they defeated both Villanova and Yale.

Bala said the team practices about five times a week and team members "are always talking on the phone and sending tons of e-mails."

"You kind of have to prioritize and say this is important now, and at the same time, you got to work on the other stuff," said Bala, who also works full-time at an Elgin law firm.

In Waukegan, ECC will face about two dozen other college teams, arguing murder cases each school received in August.

The top eight teams from each opening round will advance to a final round at Rhodes College in Tennessee.

"We're going to keep doing what we're doing. From regionals, we know what our weak points are, we're going to work perfecting everything," said team captain Jennifer Rieger, of Wayne.