In one of its most dominant performances of the year, the team took first place at the Southeast Louisiana Invitational last weekend in Hammond, La., Greg Simerly, director of the SIUC Debating Team, said.

Out of the 10 teams involved, five were ranked in the top 20 nationwide. The Saluki debaters took three out of the first five places in the varsity division and first place in the novice division for first-year debaters. The team lost only four out of 38 debates during the weekend.

The Saluki Debating Team, from 1980 on, has been a near fixture in the national rankings. The team won the National Debating title four years in a row from 1985-1988. During the 1980s, they were also runner-up for the title twice.

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From 1990-1992, the team dropped out of the rankings and was at its lowest point in its brief history, Simerly said.

Simerly said the decline was because of a cutback in funding from the University as well as lack of interest.

For a couple of years, we were not very good at all, Simerly said. We are almost totally funded by the University, and when that funding and interest isn’t there, you can’t be competitive.

This season, the Salukis never have fallen from the top 10 in the rankings and have beaten schools such as University of Loyola at Chicago, Vanderbilt University and University of California at Berkeley.

The Salukis only have three meets left this season, including nationals at Long Beach State University. With only 14 points separating the Salukis from the sixth-ranked team, Gonzaga University, Simerly said the team cannot afford to be overly confident.

We are sure of our abilities, but our motto around here is Hope for the best and prepare for the worst,’ Simerly said. We’ve worked hard to achieve our success, and when the season is over, we’ll be near the top.