Fitchburg State University students Sydney Kirsch and Matthew Costello recently finished first in the nation in the brief-writing contest at the American Collegiate Moot Court Association’s National Championship at Chapman University School of Law in Orange County, Calif.
Kirsch, of Lunenburg, and Costello, of Raynham, helped Fitchburg State maintain its standing as the only school in the nation to have teams advance to day two of every national tournament for 12 consecutive years. Both students advanced to the national tournament in all three years they competed, part of teams that won 17 of 18 preliminary rounds and made it to the second day of all three national tournaments.
Kirsch graduated on Jan. 27 and Costello is expected to return for one more season.
“The continued success of our Moot Court teams is a great source of pride for this institution,” Fitchburg State University President Robert V. Antonucci said. “I congratulate the students, faculty and staff who have worked so hard to achieve this distinction.”
“Sydney and Matt are among the best teams that Fitchburg has ever fielded,” said Professor Paul Weizer, chairman of the university’s department of economics, history and political science, and the advisor to the Moot Court team. “The competition gets tougher every year.  This year had both the largest field ever and the highest scores were needed just to get in. Yet Matt and Sydney demonstrated that they were the best in the nation. To have success in both written and oral advocacy shows just how special they are.”