Published on January 19, 2016 by Sean Flynt  

Samford University debate team members Carly Davis of Windermere, Florida, and Wesley Staples of Killen, Alabama, competed in the annual Crowe-Warken Debates at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, Jan. 16–18.

Davis and Staples earned a place in the final four at the tournament, defeating teams from the United States Military Academy, George Mason University and the United States Naval Academy. They scored a preliminary victory against the Liberty University team that won the tournament. Davis was named the sixth speaker.

 
Located in the Homewood suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,324 students from 44 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford is widely recognized as having one of the most beautiful campuses in America, featuring rolling hills, meticulously maintained grounds and Georgian-Colonial architecture. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks with the second-highest score in the nation for its 98% Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.