Fast-talkin’ Rebels at the top of their game

By Brian Nordli

Sunday, Nov. 16, 2014 | 2 a.m.

Hours before UNLV’s biggest debate competition of the season, the team rallied around Matt Gomez and Sara Beth Brooks.

It was the first time Gomez and Brooks had debated together — their normal partners were pulled away by midterm tests — and yet they outlasted 98 teams from 31 schools to reach the championship. With a win against powerhouse University of Texas in the final debate, the two would clinch UNLV’s first-ever title in the Las Vegas Invitational Collegiate Debate Tournament.

But after two 2-hour debates in a row, their voices were strained and their minds fried. They needed help.

Their teammates showed up with bottles of Mountain Dew and Pepsi, fuel for their research. They pitched in with the research, as well, allowing Gomez and Brooks to relax and rest their voices.

“Everything came together in like a perfect storm,” Gomez said. “Any disadvantage we had from not working together was solved by everyone else helping us out.”

The team support carried them to victory in the Oct. 20 championship. The win was another major step in UNLV’s rise to become one of the premier debate programs in the country, and a result of the culture that coach Jacob Thompson has created since the program returned to campus in 2007.

This year, Thompson expects the Rebels to be in the top 10 when polls are released in spring.

“The team has had a lot of success in the past, but winning a tournament takes the success to a different level,” Thompson said. “It speaks to our potential for success in the postseason as well at the national debate tournament.”

Before Thompson’s arrival, UNLV’s debate program had been on hiatus since 1998 due to budget cuts. A $1 million gift from Sanford and Sande Berman resurrected the program in 2007.

The university hired Thompson, and after a few years of success, the Berman family gave another donation that allowed the school to offer scholarships to top debaters from across the country.

Since then, the UNLV debate team has garnered respect nationwide. In 2012, the team joined the likes of Stanford University and Harvard University to finish in the top 10 in national rankings.

This year, with debaters like Gomez and Brooks, Thompson says he has one of the deepest teams the program has ever had. Unlike some schools that focus all of their resources on one competitive team, he said UNLV has 15 varsity debaters and three teams that can compete on the national level.

It comes down to preparation, he said. He had his team come to UNLV a month before classes began to research and hone their skills. During the season, Thompson has students practice three days a week with mock debates, speed-talking drills and research.

Some debaters can speak up to 350 words a minute, allowing them to barrage opponents with reams of information in minutes. The average person speaks 150 words per minute.

Brooks said the team spends a tremendous amount of time researching and preparing arguments.

“It functions like a family,” said Brooks, a junior transfer student from Cal State Fullerton. “We all take care of each other and make sure everybody has the best opportunities to succeed.”