A Successful Season for Villanova Law Competition Teams
Throughout the 2025-26 academic year, Villanova Law was well-represented by its competition teams at various regional and national competitions across North America. This year’s teams include the Moot Court Board, National Trial Team, Phi Alpha Delta, Scarpa Corporate Negotiation Team and Sports Law Negotiation Team. A team of students also competed at the 2026 United States Patent and Trademark Office National Patent Application Drafting Competition. At competitions, students are given the opportunity to enhance and showcase their courtroom skills while facing some of the best law school advocates in the country in simulated real-world examples.
Co-curricular teams:
At Cleveland State University College of Law’s 2026 Rock and Roll Moot Court Festival from January 16-17, Brianna Cooper ’26 and Max Farrell ’26 finished as quarterfinalists. The team was coached by Claire Sprang ’26.
- At Catholic University’s National Telecommunications and Technology Moot Court Competition from February 6-7, Phoebe Tuite ’27 and Camryn Williams-Babu ’27 competed in the preliminary rounds. The team was coached by Gavin Tamer ’26.
At the American Bar Association’s National Appellate Advocacy Competition from February 19 to March 7, two teams competed in the preliminary rounds. Claire Sprang ’26 and Seth Winigrad ’26 were coached by Wyatt Ansel ’26, and Max Farrell ’26, Allison Jedrzejek ’26 and Trishual Patel ’26 were coached by Jacob Roth.
At Catholic University’s Ellen Hennessy Memorial Employment Law Competition from March 6-7, Amisha Mirchandani ’27 and Reagyn Powers ’27 competed in the preliminary rounds. The team was coached by Arielle Eldridge ’26 with assistance from Professor Ann Juliano.
At the Hispanic National Bar Association’s 31st Annual Uvaldo Herrera Moot Court Competition from March 11-12, Arielle Eldridge ’26 and Maria Elisa Escobar ’26 were named National Champions. Additionally, they were awarded Fourth Best Overall Brief. The team was coached by Gavin Tamer ’26, with assistance from Professor Ann Juliano, Victoria Peña-Parr ’25 and Andrea Solís Canto ’25.
At Cardozo School of Law’s 2026 FAME Moot Court Competition from March 18-20, Shea Sarsfield ’27 and Jason Warren ’27 competed in the preliminary rounds. The team was coached by Seth Winigrad ’26 with assistance from Professor Michael Furey and Adjunct Professor Leigha Santoro.
At the 33rd Annual Judge John R. Brown Admiralty Moot Court Competition from March 19-21, Andrew Becker ’27 and Easton Warner ’27 finished as finalists. Additionally, they received the fifth-highest brief score and Best Newcomer Award. The team was coached by Max Farrell ’26 with assistance from Professor Ann Juliano.
At the 2026 Seigenthaler-Sutherland Cup National First Amendment Moot Court Competition from March 20-21, Wyatt Ansel ’26 and Michael Lambert ’26 finished as quarterfinalists. The team was coached by Jacob Roth ’26.
At the Michigan State University College of Law Gender and Sexuality Moot Court Competition from March 21-22, Quinn Kelley ’27 and Kyle Schoener ’27 finished as semifinalists. Additionally, they received the eighth-highest brief score. The team was coached by Maria Elisa Escobar ’26 with assistance from Professors Alvin Padilla-Babilonia and Tuan Samahon.
At Brooklyn Law School’s 41st Annual Dean Jerome Prince Memorial Evidence Competition from March 26-28, Ted Bolte ’27 and Annie Langhauser ’27 competed in the preliminary rounds. The team was coached by Michael Lambert ’26.
At Fordham School of Law’s Irving R. Kaufman Memorial Securities Law Moot Court Competition from March 27-29, Allison Blank ’27 and Marissa Gillespie ’27 competed in the preliminary rounds. The team was coached by Allison Jedrzejek ’26 with assistance from Professor Jennifer O’Hare.
At the Federal Bar Association’s Thurgood Marshall Memorial Competition on April 10, Jacob Roth ’26 and Gavin Tamer ’26 finished as semifinalists. The team was coached by Wyatt Ansel ’26.
- At Hofstra University School of Law’s First Chair Trial Competition from September 12-14, Matthew Peipher ’26 and Karlee Whitpan ’27 finished as semifinalists. The team was coached by Adjunct Professors Steven Patton ’15 and Zachary Wynkoop.
At the All-Star Bracket Tournament Challenge from October 3-5, Gabriel Dash ’26, Blayne Laliberte ’27, Andrew Waldman ’27 and Conor Whitlark ’26 competed virtually. The team was coached by Adjunct Professors John Michael Hickey ’15, Christopher Lynett and Ellis Palividas.
At Baylor University School of Law’s Tournament of Champions from October 23-26, Payton Fox ’27, Puneet Gupta ’27, Matthew Peipher ’26 and Karlee Whitpan ’27 competed in the preliminary rounds. This tournament, sponsored by the National Institute of Trial Advocacy and Trial Lawyers for Justice, is invitation-only for the top sixteen law schools in the nation. This is the first year Villanova Law earned a bid. The team was coached by Adjunct Professors Ryan Kelly ’21 and Zachary Wynkoop.
At the Premiere Trial Competition hosted by Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law from November 8-9, Christian Carson ’27, Alex Gomez ’26, Grace Jang ’27 and Devon Moore ’27 finished as quarterfinalists. Additionally, Moore received an award for Best Advocate. The team was coached by Adjunct Professors Daniel Goldfield ’24 and Dani Nispel.
At the Nova Southern University School of Law’s Shark Beach Showdown from February 19-22, Christian Carson ’27, Gabriel Dash ’26, Alex Gomez ’26 and Grace Jang ’27 competed in the preliminary rounds. The team was coached by Adjunct Professors Daniel Goldfield ’24 and Ellis Palividas.
Two teams competed at the Regional Trial Competition in Philadelphia from February 20-22. Matthew Peipher ’26 and Karlee Whitpan ’27 finished as semifinalists in the region. Payton Fox ’27 and Puneet Gupta ’27 won the region, earning a bid to the National Trial Competition in Dallas. The teams were coached by Adjunct Professors Abby Morris ’25, Steven Patton ’15 and Zachary Wynkoop.
At the American Association for Justice’s Student Advocacy Competition in Philadelphia from March 5-8, Blayne Laliberte ’27, Devon Moore ’27, Andrew Waldman ’27 and Conor Whitlark ’26 finished as semifinalists. The team was coached by Adjunct Professors John Michael Hickey ’15, Ryan Kelly ’21 and Christopher Lynett.
At the National Trial Competition from April 8-11, Payton Fox ’27 and Puneet Gupta ’27 competed in the preliminary rounds. The team was coached by Adjunct Professors Abby Morris ’25, Steven Patton ’15 and Zachary Wynkoop.
Two teams competed at the 19th Annual International Baseball Arbitration Competition at Tulane University School of Law from January 15-16. Noah Gilder ’27, Emma Keough ’26 and Joe Messina ’26 won the competition. Christopher Costa ’27 and Lance Perlow ’27 finished as quarterfinalists. This was the team’s third straight year winning the competition and the fourth consecutive year that two Villanova Law teams advanced to the quarterfinal rounds.
Two teams competed at the 12th Annual Tulane Professional Football Negotiation Competition from January 30-31. Nick Briggs ’27, Matt Cohen ’26 and Garrett Zipperstein ’27 finished as quarterfinalists. Ethan Chaiet ’26, Rob Meyer ’27 and Ben Rosen ’27 won Overall Best Brief and finished in the top 10.
Two teams competed in the 9th Annual Tulane Professional Basketball Negotiation Competition from February 19-20. Team one, Gabby Painter ’26, Bryce Prochazka ’26 and Pasquale Tartaro ’26, and team two, Jacob Goldstein ’26, Josh Schulman ’27 and Jesse Stern ’27, finished in the top 10.
Two teams competed in the 5th Annual New York Law School Soccer Dispute Competition from March 6-7. Kelly Fitzgerald ’27 and Evan Partridge ’26, coached by Justin D’Allessandro ’26, competed in the event alongside the team of Juhi Patel ’26 and Kevin Tavolaro ’27, coached by Aidan Grigorian ’27, who were semifinalists.
In addition, the Sports Law Negotiation Team hosted competitions at Villanova Law throughout the academic year, including the Fourth Annual Baseball Filing Day Competition from October 24-25 and the Sixth Annual Professional Football Negotiation Competition from March 20-21.
Other competition teams:
From February 26-28, Villanova Law competed at the Phi Alpha Delta Law School Mock Trial Competition in Arlington, VA. The team of Bethany Bluel ’28, Sara Brocious ’28, Marisa De Silva ’28 and Isabel Graham ’28 finished top 10 in the nation. Additionally, Bluel was among the competition’s top three advocates. The team was coached by Payton Fox ’27, Grace Jang ’27, Dennis Reilly ’27, Andrew Waldman ’27 and Karlee Whitpan ’27.
At the American Bar Association Regional Negotiation Competition hosted by the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law from October 24-26, Michaela Devlin ’27, Kerry Ellis ’27 and Alex Godiner ’27 competed in the preliminary rounds.
At the Entertainment Negotiation Competition hosted by Tulane University School of Law from November 12-15, Connor Ashnault ’26, Samuel Beatty ’26 and Lauren Lauletta ’27 competed in the preliminary rounds.
Throughout November, two teams participated in the American Bar Association Arbitration Competition at American University. Team one was Justin Berge ’27, Rachana Panchal ’26, Romaan Sheikh ’27 and Sarah Thomas ’26. Team two, Kelly Fitzgerald ’27, Madison Graver ’27, Gabrielle Leach ’27 and Lizzie McGaughan ’27, was coached by Michaela Devlin ’27.
From February 12-13, two teams competed in the University of Miami School of Law Counseling Creators Conference. Team one was Samuel Beatty ’26, Madison Graver ’27, Gabrielle Leach ’27 and Hadley Starr ’26. Team two was Kelly Fitzgerald ’27, Mackenzie Fuhrmann ’26, Anna Korchak ’26 and Lizzie McGaughan ’27. After several preliminary rounds, both teams made it to the quarterfinals, finishing eighth out of 32 teams. Team one won both their quarterfinal and semifinal rounds, placing second overall.
At the UCLA Transactional Law Competition on February 20, Michaela Devlin ’27, Kerry Ellis ’27, Alex Godiner ’27 and Lauren Lauletta ’27 competed in the preliminary rounds. The teams were coached by Amanda Martinez ’25.
At the American Bar Association Client Counseling Competition on February 6, Justin Berge ’27, Nicole Gedd ’27 and Romaan Sheikh ’27 competed in the preliminary rounds.
Villanova Law students Alex Eisenberg ’27, Molly Moore ’27, Ben Opdahl ’28 and Vanessa Wagner ’27 competed on March 6 for the regional rounds and April 17 for the final round, where they finished in third place. They were coached by William Kehoe ’24 and Michael Schwartz ’21 with assistance from Professors Brett Frischmann and Michael Risch.